Chennai Super Kings

After 16 years of retaining its solidity, the Chennai Super Kings finally embraced an air of transition when the legendary MS Dhoni handing over the leadership duties to Ruturaj Gaikwad in the IPL 2024 season.

Stepping into fill the big boots of CSK's talisman who led the franchise to a record five titles, Gaikwad found his initiation to end with a lacklustre campaign.

The Super Kings won seven of their 14 games and finished just outside the Playoffs spot in fifth place. Despite a horde of big names in the line-up, CSK's challenge to balance the side in the presence of a waning Dhoni proved too much for the franchise before opting for a major overhaul for the 2025 edition.

However, with the 43-year-old Dhoni making his intentions to stay on and Ravindra Jadeja marking himself among CSK's retentions, the five-time winners are keen to move forward under Gaikwad without completely giving up on its identity.

CSK, fabled for its trademark comeback tales, scripted a remarkable turnaround from a lowly 2022 campaign to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) title in 2023, beating Gujarat Titans in the final held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad last year. T

CSK retentions for IPL 2025: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Matheesha Pathirana, Shivam Dube and MS Dhoni.