Former Chennai Super Kings player Suresh Raina has opined that opener Ruturaj Gaikwad is best suited to take over from Mahendra Singh Dhoni once the talismanic captain hangs up his boots. The record IPL-winning captain is 42 this season which means it could very well be his last assignment with the club.
Dhoni guided CSK to a fifth title last season despite suffering from a wobbly knee throughout the tournament. At the time, many wondered if it would be the last swansong for him but the former Indian captain said he would return the next year.
“The biggest question is who will be their next captain? Even if Dhoni stepped away as captain, he would be there in the dugout as a mental toughness coach or just for his presence. But who does MS Dhoni have his eyes on? I think Ruturaj Gaikwad will be a good option,” Raina told Jio Cinema.
While Raina went with an unorthodox choice, most players and experts have opined that CSK might go with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who was handed the captaincy hat when Dhoni briefly quit the job in 2022.
Raina added he wanted his former teammate to continue playing for another few years, even if he hands over the reins to someone else.
“This year is probably more important for CSK than MS Dhoni because we will see who he is going to select as his deputy and probably say, ‘You handle this now. I’ve been looking after the team since 2008’. He is 42 years old now. I would like to see him play for five more years or at least 2-3 years.”
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CSK’s 2024 campaign
Dhoni has been leading the CSK camp since the inception of IPL in 2008. Under him, Chennai have won as many as five titles, the latest coming in 2023 edition, and have entered the playoffs in every season barring 2020 and 2022.
CSK will open the 2024 campaign as the defending champions against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the MA Chidamabaram Stadium in Chennai. If Dhoni goes the distance this year, he will sign off as the most-successful captain the tournament has witnessed in his history as Rohit Sharma is no more the Mumbai Indians captain.
CSK squad for IPL 2024: MS Dhoni, Devon Conway, Avanish Rao Aravelly, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shaik Rasheed, Ajinkya Rahane, Sameer Rizvi, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Ajay Mandal, Nishant Sindhu, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Mustafizur Rahman, Mukesh Choudhary
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