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The 27-year-old Ruturaj Gaikwad is set to make his Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captaincy debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on March 21. Gaikwad has five-time IPL champion MS Dhoni’s big shoes to fill but he does not look worried about the major role.
In a video posted by CSK on X, Gaikwad said that while it is a huge responsibility, he will have support from former captain Dhoni and senior players like Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja.
"It feels good. It's a privilege obviously. I feel more than that. It's a huge responsibility but I'm really excited because of the kind of group we have. Everyone's experienced enough, so not much to do for me. Plus, I have Mahi (Dhoni) bhai in the team, Jaddu (Jadeja) bhai as well, Ajju (Rahane) bhai as well, who's been a great captain, to guide me. Nothing much to worry, just looking forward to enjoy it," said Gaikwad.
Gaikwad has his task cut out
Earlier, Gaikwad led a second-string Indian side in the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023. India won the gold medal based on a higher T20I ranking after the final against Afghanistan was washed out.
Gaikwad will be the fourth captain to lead CSK after Dhoni, Suresh Raina, and Jadeja. It will be interesting to see how Gaikwad handles his bowlers in the death overs against RCB's big hitters. Matheesha Pathirana will be unavailable for the initial few matches. In his absence, Bangladesh’s left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman is likely to be CSK’s go-to bowler towards the end of the innings.
Also, in the absence of an injured Devon Conway, Gaikwad is likely to have a new opening partner in young New Zealand batter Rachin Ravindra. Rahane is another option for the role.
CSK IPL 2024 squad:
MS Dhoni, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Devon Conway, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Choudhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Mitchell Santner, Simarjeet Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Rachin Ravindra, Shardul Thakur, Daryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Mustafizur Rahman, Avanish Rao Aravelly.
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