The defending champions, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), are embarking on another captaincy experiment by appointing Ruturaj Gaikwad as their captain after MS Dhoni stepped down from the role ahead of the IPL 2024, starting on March 22.
Something similar happened two years ago when Ravindra Jadeja took over from Dhoni, albeit temporarily, during the IPL 2022 campaign. However, that experiment didn't pan out as expected, leading to Dhoni taking over the captaincy midway through the tournament.
Now, CSK's head coach, Stephen Fleming, said that Jadeja expected to play a supportive role for the new captain, Gaikwad.
Despite the leadership change, Fleming believes that Jadeja, known for his resilience, will remain a valuable asset to CSK, and it won’t be affected by the latest move.
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Stephen Fleming told the media: “Jadeja went into CSK folklore with those two shots that he played in the last two balls of the last IPL. Jadeja is a tough character and there is a strong component of leadership in him and Ruturaj will definitely use his help.”
On being asked about the reasons behind Ruturaj's appointment, Fleming said: “Ruturaj is very self-assured, he has a great approach for fellow payers and is well-respected in the group.”
He signed off by saying on Dhoni’s fitness, “His body is stronger than it was last season and the most amazing thing about him is his durability and desire. His ability to come back time and time again is almost contagious. Add to that the skills that he still has and he has been hitting the ball beautifully at the nets.”
(With NDTV Inputs)
