The Chennai Super Kings start the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season with another captaincy experiment, as MS Dhoni makes way for Ruturaj Gaikwad to lead the team. Two years ago, the Super Kings had made a similar change that saw Ravindra Jadeja replacing Dhoni at the helm. However, that decision had to be reversed in the middle of the IPL 2022 campaign as Jadeja failed to impress as a skipper. CSK head coach Stephen Fleming now expects Jadeja to play a supporting role for the new captain Gaikwad in the squad.
Fleming revealed that the decision was taken by Dhoni after much deliberation. The wicket-keeper batter then announced the news over the dinner table to his teammates before informing the same to the management.
The CSK coach doesn’t think Ruturaj’s promotion will have any effect on Jadeja who remains a ‘tough character’.
“Jadeja went into CSK folklore with those two shots that he played in the last two balls of the last IPL. Jadeja is a tough character and there is a strong component of leadership in him and Ruturaj will definitely use his help,” Fleming said.
When asked about the reasons behind Ruturaj’s appointment, the coach added: “Ruturaj is very self-assured, he has a great approach for fellow payers and is well-respected in the group.”
Dhoni has had injury problems to deal with at the end of the last year and there were some doubts over his fitness in the build-up to the new season too. But, it’s Thala’s desire that supersedes his limitations.
“His body is stronger than it was last season and the most amazing thing about him is his durability and desire. His ability to come back time and time again is almost contagious. Add to that the skills that he still has and he has been hitting the ball beautifully at the nets,” Fleming said.
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