2024-03-21 10:20:47
When Rituraj Gaikwad represented Chennai Super Kings in the IPL captains photo shoot.
Chennai: Just hours before the start of the 17th season of IPL, the Chennai Super Kings fans were shocked by the captain M.S. Dhoni’s resignation announcement. Rituraj Gaekwad will be leading the team this season. Chennai’s captaincy change is clear on the official website of IPL. The confirmation came when Gaikwad replaced Dhoni to represent Chennai in the captains’ photo shoot before the start of the IPL season.
Earlier, Dhoni had posted on social media that there is a surprise in the new IPL season. The indication was that he would get a new role. However, the resignation came unexpectedly when the fans were expecting pleasant surprises like a change in the batting order.
M.S. Dhoni and Rituraj Gaekwad during the shooting of an advertisement featuring the stars of Chennai Super Kings.
Dhoni has been the captain of Chennai since the start of IPL in 2008. He also became the last of the then captains to step down. While Dhoni has led Chennai in 226 matches, the captains of the remaining nine teams have led their respective teams in just 261 matches.
Dhoni had vacated the captaincy even before the 2022 season. Ravindra Jadeja was appointed as his replacement. With the team’s performance under Jadeja dismal, Dhoni took over the captaincy again at the request of the team management.
He also led the team to the fifth title last season. Even though there were rumors that he would announce his retirement with that, Dhoni promised his fans that if his body allows, he will see us in the next season as well. Cricket lovers are hoping that Dhoni will be behind the wicket even if he is not the captain this time. However, there is a high possibility that this will be his last season in the IPL.
New captain Rituraj Gaikwad has been an integral part of the Chennai team since making their IPL debut in 2020. So far he has scored 1797 runs in 52 matches. The batting average of the opener is 39 runs. He also has an excellent strike rate of 135.5. He scored 635 runs in 16 matches in the 2021 season. The average on that day was 45 runs.
Gaikwad’s captaincy debut will be the opening match of this year’s IPL. Royal Challengers Bangalore will be the opponents of the hosts in the opening match in Chennai on March 22.
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