In what could have been devastating news for any team, the recent headline of Ruturaj Gaikwad missing the remainder of the IPL 2025 season has been received in a different manner by CSK fans. It’s not because they think less of Gaikwad, the opener is one of the best batters in IPL, but because of his absence, fan-favourite MS Dhoni is set to return as captain.
Ahead of their upcoming match vs KKR, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming announced that Gaikwad would be missing the remainder of IPL 2025 due to a fracture on his left elbow, and Dhoni would be taking over as skipper for the remaining fixtures.
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MS Dhoni can ‘make CSK qualify from here’: Ambati Rayudu
In a video shared by ESPNcricinfo, Ambati Rayudu expressed his disappointment over Gaikwad’s injury, which sees him miss the remaining games. But then he also once again went into his usual Dhoni fanboy mode, which he has been criticised of doing lately, and hailed the former India player.
“First of all, it's very sad that Ruturaj, the captain of CSK has been ruled out of the IPL. But all the fans will definitely be extremely excited to see MS Dhoni lead CSK again. He can always pull out his magic and make CSK qualify from here. It will be one great story. So, I am very, very excited and I just hope that he weaves his magic all over the CSK team,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“First of all, it's very sad that Ruturaj, the captain of CSK has been ruled out of the IPL. But all the fans will definitely be extremely excited to see MS Dhoni lead CSK again. He can always pull out his magic and make CSK qualify from here. It will be one great story. So, I am very, very excited and I just hope that he weaves his magic all over the CSK team,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Dhoni last captained CSK in the IPL 2023 final, which CSK won by five wickets, defeating GT. This season, CSK are in dire need of inspiration, and are in ninth position in the points table, with four defeats and one win.
Dhoni is considered by many to be the greatest captain in IPL and cricket history. In the IPL, he has led CSK to the final on ten occasions, winning it five times (2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023), jointly sharing this record with Rohit Sharma. Dhoni also skippered CSK to two Champions League T20 titles in 2010 and 2014.