In a massive development ahead of Chennai Super Kings' remaining matches of IPL 2025, Ruturaj Gaikwad has been ruled out of the competition due to the elbow fracture. Hence, MS Dhoni will lead the Yellow Army in the Super Kings' remaining matches as the keeper-batter will don the captaincy hat for the first time since IPL 2023.
Gaikwad, who had stepped in the role ahead of IPL 2024, after Dhoni relinquished his leadership duties, was already in doubt ahead of the Super Kings' game against the Delhi Capitals. Amid rumours that Dhoni will captain in the home game against the Capitals, Gaikwad was deemed fit and he played against them and did so against the Punjab Kings too.
Despite a strong captaincy record, Dhoni, 43, will find himself under pressure ahead of the next game against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday at the Chepauk. The five-time champions have lost four out of five games in the tournament and will need something remarkable to stage a comeback.
"We’re disappointed and feel for him" - Stephen Fleming on Ruturaj Gaikwad
At the press conference on Thursday, head coach Stephen Fleming revealed that Gaikwad has been operating in some amount of pain for a while now and the MRI revealed a fracture in his elbow. Fleming said, as quoted by The Indian Express:
"He got hit in Guwahati. 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. So we’re disappointed and feel for him. We appreciate the efforts that he’s gone to in terms of trying to play, but unfortunately, he’d be out of the tournament from now. We have an uncapped player, MS Dhoni, who will take over as captain for the remainder of the IPL."
The Knight Riders are coming off a four-run defeat to the Lucknow Super Giants in their last game.
