IPL 2025: Ruturaj Gaikwad ruled out for the season with an elbow injury; MS Dhoni takes over as CSK captain. What does this mean for the team?
MS Dhoni is back as captain. After passing on the baton to Ruturaj Gaikwad, a twist of fate sees MS Dhoni set to lead Chennai Super Kings again in IPL 2025. Regular skipper Gaikwad has been ruled out of the tournament due to an elbow injury. The team management quickly handed over the captaincy duties to their 43-year-old uncapped player in Dhoni, who has won five titles for the franchise before.
It may be recalled that Dhoni had earlier also passed over the leadership duties to Ravindra Jadeja in the 2022 IPL. But a series of poor results saw Dhoni regaining the captaincy. He then led CSK to their fifth title in the 2023 IPL before Gaikwad took over from the next season. But history repeats itself in the 2025 IPL.
Does it make for a prudent decision to go back to Dhoni, who may or may not play another IPL season? Shouldn’t the CSK management have handed over the captaincy duties to another player who could be groomed as a future skipper?
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Why CSK went back to Dhoni?
For a successful franchise like CSK, it’s a sorry state of affairs that they do not have a like-for-like replacement skipper for Gaikwad, who has a history of getting injured across all levels. But CSK have not looked beyond Gaikwad or groomed another potential captain, and hence, they find themselves in a situation where they have no option but to go back to Dhoni.
Jadeja had a forgettable outing as captain earlier, and age is not on his side. Other youngsters such as Shivam Dube are too raw for this responsibility, while experienced foreign stars like Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, and Sam Curran have not been burdened with the added responsibility of being part of the leadership group. They also have no experience of leading any team at the domestic or national level.
This lack of foresight in building a leadership group is now leaving CSK in a spot of bother. Although fans would gladly lap up Dhoni as captain again, it’s a step backwards—and lifting the team from their current standing (ninth in the points table) will be a challenge even for ‘Captain Cool’.
Ruturaj out for the season, MS Dhoni to take over for the rest of the season.
— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) April 10, 2025
Makes sense, why get in another interim captain who will have his own learning curve and complicate matters.
Read More: IPL 2025: Time CSK looked beyond MS Dhoni?
Other franchisees have a leadership group in place
CSK should learn from other franchises such as Mumbai Indians (MI) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), who have a leadership group in place to replace the skipper if he is unavailable or injured. Hardik Pandya is currently leading MI, but he can be easily replaced by Suryakumar Yadav, who is leading India in T20Is, or Rohit Sharma, who is the ODI and Test captain of India. Tilak Verma, a promising youngster, can also be groomed as a future MI captain.
For LSG, current captain Rishabh Pant can be easily replaced with Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, or Mitchell Marsh, as all these stars have led their respective national teams.
Straight from Rutu’s soul! 🤳💛📹#WhistlePodu #AllYouNeedIsYellove 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/PNIZBWR1yR
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) April 10, 2025
Way forward for CSK
CSK have to put a succession plan in place, as Dhoni might not play another season. Having just a sole candidate as captain in Gaikwad could pose problems, as seen this season. CSK coach Stephen Fleming said they will “look at replacements” for a captain. “We’ve got some good players in the squad that have been with us a while, so we’ll look from within first,” he said.
CSK need to form a leadership group where a set of players—both young and experienced, foreign or local—are identified as potential captaincy candidates, capable of stepping in whenever the regular skipper is unavailable. The process has to begin this season so that the new leadership group can learn from Dhoni and pick up captaincy skills under his mentorship.
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CAPTAIN MAHENDRA SINGH DHONI 🦁7️⃣#WhistlePodu #Yellove 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/H3Wqm6AdGt
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) April 10, 2025
What happens if CSK fail to create future leaders?
If CSK continue to build solely around Dhoni as a player or captain, they might risk losing brand value or fans once the veteran hangs up his boots. At the moment, CSK is synonymous with Dhoni and vice versa. Fans cheer when the fifth or sixth wicket falls, as that’s when Dhoni walks out to the middle. Former CSK player Ambati Rayudu said local fans cheering for their own player’s wicket “does not serve the game well.” He noted that other players are also giving their best for the team, but “when things like that happen from their own crowd, it can be avoided.”
CSK were trying to build the team around captain Gaikwad over the last two seasons, but the Dhoni hangover still lingered. Gaikwad was finally finding his groove and connecting with the fans—until this injury happened. The time is ripe now for CSK to build more future leaders, to create not only brand value but also stronger fan connections, especially since Dhoni won’t be playing for CSK for much longer.
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