Who Will Be CSK Captain After Dhoni?: Now this is an interesting thought exercise. Despite his advancing age for a cricketer, Chennai Supr Kings fans will have a sentimental attachment to the franchise’s captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, so much so that most of them might not want to see him retire just yet.
Now yes, it has been confirmed that Dhoni will play his 15th season with the franchise in IPL 2024, but it is also obvious that we are not too far away from the day when the legendary keeper-batsman parts ways from cricket.
Who Will Be CSK Captain After Dhoni?
Having been the franchise’s captain from the inception of the league in 2008, the question arises, who will replace MS Dhoni as the CSK captain once the veteran retires?
Who Will Be CSK Captain After Dhoni? For some, the answer to this question might be obvious, but that’s just not the case. The matter of captaincy of the most successful IPL side in history will be the subject of heavy consideration from the people who run the team. With that in mind, let us see who might lead the Yellow Jersey franchise in the future.
- Check Out: Will MS Dhoni Retire After IPL 2024?
1) Ravindra Jadeja
Those who remember the 2022 season of IPL might remember when CSK tried to make Ravindra Jadeja the team’s permanent captain when MS Dhoni was still with the side. That experiment ended up poorly. As per the Who Will Be CSK Captain After Dhoni?, In the five matches, he captained the Super Kings, the side won only one match as the captaincy was handed back to Dhoni at once.
But just looking at the record books might not do Jadeja justice. While yes, his time at the top was a horror show, he was only handed the captaincy of the team just two days before the season started. Also, not all blame for a team’s poor performance can be put on the captain. In fact, Dhoni’s record as captain for the rest of the season wasn’t much better.
While yes, many might feel Ravi Jadeja is a decent enough captain, but the star-allrounder has been a regular part of the national team for a decade now and has been with CSK for longer. If he is surrounded by deputies who can help him lead the team, the 34-year-old can run the team for 4-5 years after the 2024 season. Well, one of those possible deputies could be a fantastic captain of his own, who is –
- Check Out: Who Will Be CSK Captain After Dhoni?
2) Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane was one of the best buys of the 2023 season IPL auction. Having fallen out of favor with the national team and several IPL franchises, Rahane was signed by CSK for 50 Lakhs and set the league on fire. In the first few matches, he batted with a strike rate of over 200. At the end of the season, Ajinkya played 11 innings and scored 326 runs with a strike rate of 176. This is way better than his IPL career strike rate of 123.
People also forget that Ajinkya Rahane is a splendid captain. As per the Who Will Be CSK Captain After Dhoni?, Having been the vice-captain of the Indian Test team for years under Virat Kohli, Rahane was the Indian captain during the best ballad written by the cricketing gods, the 2020-21 Border Gavaskar Test Series in Australia.
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After India suffered the humiliation of being 36 all-out in the first match, Kohli had to return to India. So it was Rahane who manufactured the comeback for the ages as India won two and drew the next three matches, which included a win at the impenetrable Gabba, to take the series home.
When we discuss who will be CSK captain after Dhoni, the only issue in making Ajinkya Rahane CSK’s permanent captain after Dhoni is his age. The Maharashtrian batter will be 36 years old weeks after the 2024 IPL final. Who knows how quickly he starts seeing a natural fall-off in his abilities? But apart from that, he is the obvious choice.
But if Ajinkya Rahane’s age is too much of an issue, Chennai Super Kings might have another name in the ranks who might be Dhoni’s successor.
- Check Out: Who Will Be CSK Captain After Dhoni?
3) Ruturaj Gaikwad
Despite not being a regular in the Indian Cricket Team, Ruturaj Gaikwad is an undeniable talent in Indian cricket. A sublime opening batter with seemingly all the tools in his arsenal, Gaikwad has been the biggest revelation of CSK in the past few years.
Making his IPL debut for CSK in 2020, he was the only shining light in an otherwise dismal year for the Chennai-based franchise. Since then, he has regularly been one of the highest run-getters not only in the team but in the whole league. Not to mention his awesome domestic performances and several innings where he has showcased his talent in the national team.
- Check Out: Will MS Dhoni Retire After IPL 2024?
It has become a trend for several IPL teams to make young Indian players their captains who can lead the team for years to come. Rajasthan Royals has Sanju Samsom, Kolkata Knight Riders has Shreyas Iyer, Delhi Capitals had Rishabh Pant before his accident, and Gujarat Titans have recently announced Shubhman Gill as their new captain. Even Kl Rahul of Lucknow Super Giants is in his very early 30s, and so is Mumbai Indians’ possible future captain Hardik Pandya.
With all that in mind, Ruturaj Gaikwad becomes the obvious choice for the role of future CSK captain. He also has experience captaining sides at a high level, as he captained the Indian Cricket Team that participated in and won a gold medal in the 2023 Asian Games.
When we ask who will be CSK captain after Dhoni,, while all these names are logical successors of MS Dhoni as CSK captain, the team can always buy a new captain, maybe whenever the next mega-auction rolls around.
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