Out-of-favour India batter and ex-CSK star Kedar Jadhav feels that Ruturaj Gaikwad should be the successor of MS Dhoni as the captain of the franchise when the wicketkeeper-batter calls time on his IPL career. IPL 2023 is expected to be Dhoni's last season as a player at the cash-rich tournament. Jadhav also mentioned Ben Stokes as a potential contender for the post of CSK captain, but he added that the England star has to play really well in the ongoing season to stay in contention for the role.
"I think Ruturaj Gaikwad could be the captain of CSK after MS Dhoni. Ben Stokes is also another potential captain along with Ravindra Jadeja. But for that Stokes has to play really well for CSK this year. Availability is another issue. So I think Rituraj Gaikwad is the best option to captain CSK after MS Dhoni," said Kedar Jadhav, who is an IPL commentator and expert for JioCinema.
CSK signed Stokes at a whopping sum of Rs 16.25 crore at IPL 2023 auctions. On the other hand, Ruturaj Gaikwad has been a part of the CSK team since 2019.
While he didn't get his chance in his first season with the franchise, Gaikwad got to play six matches in 2020 and never looked back since then.
Over the years, the right-handed opener has become the backbone of CSK's batting line up. He averages over 40 in IPL with the bat while his strike rate is over 130.
It is worth noting that Dhoni had passed the captaincy baton to Jadeja ahead of IPL 2022, but the team's poor show in the season saw Jadeja leaving the leadership duty mid-way and Dhoni taking over the role again.