Why CSK chose Ruturaj Gaikwad as MS Dhoni's successor?

MS Dhoni has done it again. The legendary wicketkeeper-captain has once again caught the entire cricketing community, from former and current cricketers and journalists to the fans, off guard with a bombshell announcement from out of the blue.

Dhoni had quit Test captaincy midway during the 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, handing over the reins of the Indian team in the five-day format to Virat Kohli. He would then step down as India captain from all formats in January 2017 to make Kohli the Men in Blue’s undisputed leader, once again with a sudden announcement.

Dhoni would do it again on Independence Day 2020 when he announced his decision to retire from international cricket through an Instagram post, a little over a year after making his final appearance in the blue jersey during the 2019 ICC World Cup semi-final.

And on Thursday, Dhoni’s reign as Chennai Super Kings captain (CSK) captain — which began all the way back in the inaugural edition in 2008 — would come to an abrupt end with the defending champions picking another wicketkeeper-batter in Ruturaj Gaikwad as their new skipper .

Read | ‘My childhood has officially ended’: Reactions to Gaikwad replacing Dhoni as CSK captain

So why is it that CSK went with Gaikwad as the captain, and not someone senior such as Ravindra Jadeja? Or others such as Ajinkya Rahane or Moeen Ali?

Why CSK chose Gaikwad as captain over others?

The reason behind Chennai’s decision to pick Gaikwad as Dhoni’s successor is perhaps also the reason why fellow five-time champions Mumbai Indians went with Hardik Pandya as their lead from the 2024 season, bringing Rohit Sharma’s decade-long, trophy-filled reign as captain to an end.

CSK and MI have quite a few things in common which make them the most successful franchises in the history of the competition and one of them is their ability to make decisions with an eye on the future. And that certainly holds true even for the Super Kings who until recently had been described as a ‘Dads’ Army’.

Star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who has been an integral part of CSK since joining the franchise in 2012, was briefly made captain in the 2022 season . As is the case ahead of 2024, Jadeja’s promotion to the role of captaincy was also an abrupt announcement two days before the start of the 15th season, and had similarly taken the cricketing world by surprise.

Jadeja’s reign, however, proved to be a disaster as Chennai lost six out of their first eight matches that season, starting their title defence with four consecutive defeats. Dhoni would take back captaincy from Jadeja exactly a month after relinquishing it to him, but it was too late for the franchise by then and a spot in the playoffs was well beyond reach.

Chennai would finishing ninth that season, tied with fellow powerhouses Mumbai Indians on eight points with the latter getting the wooden spoon thanks to their inferior Net Run Rate.

Then there’s Ajinkya Rahane who’s a proven leader and had also reinvented himself as a T20 batter last season, collecting 326 runs throughout the season at a stunning average of 172.49. Handing the captaincy to Rahane, however, would make little sense for the franchise given that the Mumbai cricketer is in his mid-30s and isn’t likely to be part of the franchise for too long, unlike Gaikwad.

There were speculations of CSK intending to make Ben Stokes their future leader after acquiring the England Test captain and all-rounder for a whopping Rs 16.25 crore ahead of the 2023 auction. Stokes, however, hardly made an impact for the Super Kings that season as he played just two matches due to his knee injury, and had ultimately opted out of the IPL this year to manage his workload and fitness.

As for Gaikwad, not only is he a fantastic opening option for both Chennai and India, having formed a successful opening pairing with New Zealand’s Devon Conway at the top of the CSK order, but he has also proved himself as a leader.

Gaikwad led Maharashtra to the final of the 2022-23 Vijay Hazare Trophy, where they finished runners-up following a defeat against Saurashtra in the final, and the wicketkeeper-batter led from the front that season, finishing the second-highest run-scorer with 660 runs an an average of 220, scoring four centuries in five matches.

And it’s not just his state team that Gaikwad’s captained in the past — the 27-year-old from Pune had also masterminded India’s successful campaign in the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, where they ended up winning the gold medal on debut. Even though India played just three matches in that tournament, with the final ultimately getting washed out, Gaikwad proved that he could handle the pressure of leading one’s country at a continental event where they is a gold medal at stake.

Dhoni had been grooming Gaikwad in the art of captaincy for quite some time, and the Vijay Hazare triumph in the 2022-23 season would’ve come as great news for the franchise in their hunt for a successor. The Asian Games triumph that followed would’ve only sealed their choice.

The upcoming season is going to be massive for Gaikwad, given the size of the shoes that he has to fill with Dhoni apparently stepping away for good, although one can never rule out another 2022-like situation where he might have to make another return should CSK start losing games in a heap once again.

However, should he click as a leader in his maiden season and ensure his form as an opener, which has been fairly consistent ever since he broke into the team in 2019, Gaikwad will not only be carrying CSK’s rich legacy forward but might just become the newest contender for India captaincy in the post-Rohit era.