MS Dhoni will once again lead Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. When CSK get down to action against Kolkata Knight Riders in an IPL 2025 match in Chennai on Friday, all eyes will be on the most successful IPL captain - MS Dhoni. However, the situation that CSK find itself in is not at all ideal. The five-time champions have lost four out of five matches, they are placed 9th in the 10-team league and now regular captain Ruturaj Gaikwad is also out due to an elbow injury. In this scenario, MS Dhoni steps in to revive CSK's campaign.
LIVE UPDATES: CSK vs KKR - MS Dhoni Returns As Captain
CSK coach Stephen Fleming said MS Dhoni was not at all averse to the idea of leading CSK again.
"He had no hesitation to step up and help guide us out of this if we can," Fleming said. "So that was never a doubt. We'll look at replacements. We've got some good players in the squad that have been with us a while, so we'll look from within first. But yeah, there is an opportunity to see how we can enhance the squad probably moving forward into subsequent years."
Dhoni had previously captained CSK from 2008 till 2023 and won five IPL titles. He handed over the captaincy to Gaikwad ahead of the 2024 season. Gaikwad sustained the blow when he was hit by a short ball from Jofra Archer on March 30, and since then he has played two games.
"We have an uncapped player, MS Dhoni, who will take over as captain for the remainder of the IPL," Fleming told mediapersons ahead of the match against KKR on Friday.
"He got hit in Guwahati (vs RR). He's been operating with an amount of pain. We got an X-ray, which was inconclusive, and we had an MRI, which revealed a fracture in his elbow, in the radial neck," Fleming said.
While Gaikwad played through pain against Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings, the CSK medical team could only get his MRI done after the swelling subsided.
"So we're disappointed and feel for him. We appreciate the efforts that he's gone to in terms of trying to play, but, he will be out of the tournament.
While Gaikwad has easily been the best batter in the last five games, he has often been left frustrated by a floundering top order and below-par show by the middle order, where CSK haven't been able to chase anything in excess of 180.
CSK doesn't have too many options now apart from bringing back Rahul Tripathi in the top-three although he has looked terribly out of place so far.
Deepak Hooda, one of the seasoned CSK players, can come in the middle order.
CSK can also look at the untested Delhi boy Vansh Bedi to do some power hitting.
The Chennai team is entitled to a substitute player and it could be Mumbai teenager Ayush Mhatre filling in that slot.
With PTI inputs