IPL 2025: Why CSK have turned to MS Dhoni to lead in Ruturaj Gaikwad’s absence

When Stephen Fleming arrived for the press conference on the eve of their match against Kolkata Knight Riders, it looked like another routine affair. Instead, before the interaction began, he made the announcement. “He (Gaikwad) 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,” Fleming said.

If returning to Dhoni in 2022 spoke about the vacuum in CSK leadership, this time it looks far worse, betraying their lack of planning. As recent as the last outing at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, there were speculations around his future as a player with his batting prowess being questioned repeatedly. Even his keeping skills have started showing signs of slowing down and now with the team having just one win from five matches, they have turned to him to bail them out of crisis.

When Dhoni passed the baton to Gaikwad ahead of the 2024 season, it had appeared that his captaincy reign was over. When they should have identified back-up options to Gaikwad at the start of the season, they didn’t, and have now sought Dhoni again “He (Dhoni) had no hesitation to step up and help guide us out of this if we can. So that was never a doubt,” Fleming said.

Safest best

That explains why Chennai reinstated Dhoni again. Given the 2022 season, going back to Jadeja wouldn’t have fitted their plans. Beyond him, there is R Ashwin, but his recent form with the ball is such that he may not be a guaranteed starter in away matches. With the team unsure about their overseas picks beyond Noor Ahmad and Matheesha Pathirana, Dhoni seems the safe bet.

Buoyed by his return to captaincy role, it could well act as the catalyst of change . In the five matches so far, Gaikwad’s captaincy has also come under the spotlight, more so because none of their spin trio – Jadeja, Ashwin and Ahmad – has managed to finish their quota of overs in a game. Gaikwad’s rotation of bowlers and the point of introduction have also come under scrutiny. With a spin formula in place, which is Dhoni’s forte, Chennai may after all see Gaikwad’s injury as a blessing in disguise.

Another intriguing question is who would replace Gaikwad in the batting line-up. “We’ll look at replacements. We’ve got some good players in the squad that have been with us a while, so we’ll look from within first. But yeah, there is an opportunity to see how we can enhance the squad, probably moving forward into subsequent years,” he added.

Last week, when Gaikwad picked up the injury in Guwahati, the franchise flew in Mumbai’s 17-year-old opener Ayush Mhatre, who had an impressive start to his domestic career, for trials. If they are looking for experienced Indian players then they have only Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw. But with the franchise having only seven foreign players, with Gaikwad injured they have the option of looking overseas. In that case, Ben Duckett and the Kiwi set of openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen could be fallback options. But whether CSK take that route with untested overseas batsmen remains a big question.

Right through his career, the tag “Man with the Midas touch” had hung around Dhoni. Languishing in the ninth spot and appearing all at sea, Chennai would be praying that Dhoni could give them a lease of life and carry them to yet another play-offs.