As Chennai Super Kings (CSK) gear up to face Delhi Capitals (DC) in their upcoming IPL 2025 fixture at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, there's uncertainty surrounding the availability of captain Ruturaj Gaikwad due to an elbow injury.

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CSK batting coach Michael Hussey shared an update during the pre-match press conference, confirming that Gaikwad is recovering after being struck on his unprotected elbow during the previous match against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati. The incident occurred in the second over of CSK’s innings while Gaikwad attempted to take on pacer Tushar Deshpande during a 183-run chase.

"Yeah, we're hoping he [Gaikwad] is going to try and have a bat today during training. His elbow is still a bit sore, but it's getting better every day. So, we're very hopeful that he'll be fine for tomorrow," Hussey told reporters, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

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When asked about potential captaincy options if Gaikwad is ruled out, Hussey hinted at a possible return to leadership for veteran MS Dhoni. "I don’t think we’ve discussed that [captaincy] too much. I’m sure Stephen Fleming (head coach) and Rutu have thought about it. We’ve got a young guy behind the stumps who might be up for the job. He’s got a bit of experience, so maybe he could do it," Hussey said, playfully referring to the legendary former skipper.

Squads:

Delhi Capitals: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (captain), Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Ashutosh Sharma, Karun Nair, Sameer Rizvi, Donovan Ferreira, Tripurana Vijay, Darshan Nalkande, Dushmantha Chameera, T Natarajan, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Manvanth Kumar L, Madhav Tiwari.

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Chennai Super Kings: Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Shivam Dube, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Jamie Overton, Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Choudhary, Devon Conway, Shaik Rasheed, Sam Curran, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shreyas Gopal, Anshul Kamboj, Nathan Ellis, Gurjapneet Singh, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Andre Siddarth C, Vansh Bedi, Deepak Hooda.

(With inputs from agencies)