IPL 2024: Ruturaj Gaikwad reveals MS Dhoni told him to 'be ready' for CSK captaincy in 2023

On Thursday (March 21), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) dropped a bomb by revealing that Ruturaj Gaikwad will succeed MS Dhoni as the Chennai captain ahead of the IPL 2024 opener, where the Yellow Army host Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Notably, Gaikwad made heads turn when he showed up during the captains' photo shoot before the announcement was made.

'Be ready, it shouldn't come as a surprise to you'

Gaikwad revealed that Dhoni hadhinted at acaptaincy change during IPL 2023 itself. In a video shared on CSK's official handle on X, formerly Twitter, he said, "I don't think so I need to change anything. Last year itself, Mahi bhai had just hinted about captaincy at some point in time. Just hinted that 'be ready, it shouldn't come as a surprise to you.'"

He added, "I remember him posting about the new role on social media. Everybody was just pointing towards me and asking me, 'whether you are the next captain.'I was like maybe it meant something else for social media or something."

"Back of the mind it was there, but then he came in a week ago and said he had decided this. But definitely, now that I am here, I am definitely looking forward to it."

Gaikwad has become a prominent face in the CSK setup since being a part of them in 2020. In four seasons, the right-hander has1,797 runs at a strike rate of135.52, including 14 fifties and a ton. He has a herculean task to take the mantle forward from Dhoni. However, he will have the presence of the legendary figure in the playing XI during the forthcoming season and will hope to make the most of his input.

IPL 2024 kicks off on Friday evening with CSK hosting RCB at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

CSK squad for IPL 2024:MS Dhoni(wk), Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Devon Conway (wk), Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Choudhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Mitchell Santner, Simarjeet Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Prashant Solanki, MatheeshaTheekshana, Rachin Ravindra, Shardul Thakur, Daryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Mustafizur Rahman, Avanish Rao Aravelly