Chennai Super Kings is synonymous to Mahendra Singh Dhoni ever since the establishment of the Indian Premier League. MS Dhoni has been the CSK captain since for all 13 seasons the side has participated in and has led them with aplomb, clinching 4 titles.
However, this IPL season is expected to be the last one for 41-year-old MS Dhoni. Hence, CSK needs a player capable to replace Captain Cool at the helm.
Gaikwad a great choice to replace MS Dhoni as CSK captain, Mike Hussey claims
Former CSK batsman Mike Hussey has spoken on the issue, backing opening batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad as the successor for MSD.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, almost 26, has been a revelation for the Chennai Super Kings in recent times. The batter has a staggering score-tally of 1207 runs (10 fifties, 1 hundred) off just 36 IPL matches he has represented CSK in.
Endorsing him as his pick to replace MS Dhoni as the CSK skipper after MS goes into the sunset, Mike Hussey claims Ruturaj is a calm head like Dhoni.
“I am not sure what the plans for the future at CSK. But like Dhoni, he (Ruturaj) is very calm. He is actually very calm when it comes to handling pressure like Dhoni and he is a very good reader of the game”.
“He obviously watches Dhoni very closely. The other impressive thing about him is he picks up things that other players don’t pick up that quickly. He is a self-made cricketer and obviously, you need help along the way. He is quite good at picking up new things from other players”.
Mike Hussey, who has been a part of the CSK coaching setup in recent editions of the IPL also revealed that other players like to be around Ruturaj Gaikwad, re-enforcing the idea of him replacing MS Dhoni as the CSK captain.
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For the unversed, Ruturaj recently captained Maharashtra to a 2nd placed finish in the recently concluded Vinay Haraze Trophy. He was in tremendous touch with the bat in hand and slammed 4 hundreds in five matches, scoring 660 runs at an average or 220.
Handing the captaincy to Ravindra Jadeja last season didn’t click at all, and with Suresh Raina no more on the balcony and Faf du Plessis an RCBian, the leadership options for Chennai Super Kings are scarce.