Picture Credit: IPL/X
On Thursday, April 10, the five-time champions, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were handed a massive setback as they their regular skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad was confirmed to miss out on the remainder of the season due to an elbow injury. Gaikwad, who was struggling with the injury from last couple of matches, will now miss the IPL 2025 season with former CSK skipper MS Dhoni once again returning to the helm. However, there were reports of MS Dhoni returning to helm in the match against Delhi Capitals, but Gaikwad continued to lead the side.
But as confirmed now, in CSK’s home match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Friday, April 11, MS Dhoni will walk out for toss at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. With the internet going gaga over MS Dhoni’s return as captain of the Yellow Army, former India and CSK cricketer Robin Uthappa opined that the former’s return won’t solve their problems in the ongoing season of IPL.
I don’t think MS Dhoni being captain will automatically turn the tide for CSK: Uthappa
Speaking to the broadcasters after Delhi Capitals’ fourth straight win in IPL 2025, which came against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Thursday, Uthappa said, “I don’t think him being captain is going to automatically turn the tide for CSK. There are a lot of gaps on that side, right? Well, how do you fix that? How do you cover for a solid batter like Rutu, who seems like the only one finding some form?"
His statement came seeing that it would be hard to find Ruturaj Gaikwad’s replacement in the XI, while adding that the franchise could think of promoting Rahul Tripathi at number three position. “We have Devon Conway, who showed some form in the previous game against Punjab — he scored 69* before getting retired out. Rachin has been a little patchy since the IPL began. You have Rahul Tripathi, who I think will have to come in at number three right now,” Uthappa continued.
“Who do they replace to bring in Ruturaj, and what kind of performance will they produce? Sam Curran — does he come back into the fray, or not? There’s just so much. So many moving pieces, and a lot will be revealed tomorrow. But will that be enough to revive CSK’s hopes in this campaign?” Uthappa added.
Chennai Super Kings’ IPL 2025 squad
MS Dhoni (C), Ravindra Jadeja, Matheesha Pathirana, Shivam Dube, Noor Ahmad, Ravichandran Ashwin, Devon Conway, Khaleel Ahmed, Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Sam Curran, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Deepak Hooda, Mukesh Choudhary, Shaik Rasheed, Nathan Ellis, Jamie Overton, Ramkrishna Ghosh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shreyas Gopal, Vansh Bedi, Andre Siddarth.
