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MS Dhoni may be asked to captain the Chennai Super Kings against the Delhi Capitals in their IPL 2025 home match on Saturday, 5 April. If Ruturaj Gaikwad does not fully recover from an elbow injury he suffered during their most recent game against the Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati, Dhoni is anticipated to take over as captain. Gaikwad's fitness will be evaluated during Friday's training session at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, CSK's batting coach Michael Hussey confirmed to the media on the eve of the IPL 2025 match in Chennai. After more assessment, a final decision about his participation is probably going to be made on matchday.
Hussey alluded to "a young man behind the stumps" perhaps taking over as captain for Saturday's game when asked if the squad had thought about having a stand-in skipper. On Sunday, March 30, while batting in Guwahati against the Rajasthan Royals, Ruturaj was struck in the elbow. The young opener is racing against the clock to be fully fit for the highly anticipated matchup against the undefeated Delhi Capitals, even after a week-long layoff.
"I don't think we've actually thought about that [captaincy] too much. Well, I haven't thought about it too much. I'm sure Stephen Fleming and Rutu have discussed it," Hussey said.
"But we've got some young guy [Dhoni] coming through. He's behind the stumps. Maybe he can do a good job," Hussey quipped, confirming that Ruturaj is still nursing a sore elbow.
"I'm not sure. He's got a bit of experience in the role, so maybe he could do it. But to be honest, I'm not exactly sure," he added.
The last time MS Dhoni captained the Super Kings was during their 2023 championship run. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has been captaining the team since the 2024 IPL season, took over from Dhoni.
