Stephen Fleming Reveals MS Dhoni’s Reaction When He Was Asked To Become Captain Again

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India] April 10: A 43-year-old MS Dhoni, who has been criticised for coming out to bat way too late in IPL 2025, had no hesitation in returning as the Chennai Super Kings captain after knowing that regular skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad would not be able to take further part in the tournament due to a fracture on his elbow. CSK, in an official statement on April 10, announced Dhoni’s return as the captain for the first time since the final of 2023.

“He [Dhoni] had no hesitation to step up and help guide us out of this if we can,” CSK head coach Stephen Fleming told reporters in Chennai in the pre-match press conference before their important home game against Kolkata Knight. “So that was never a doubt.

Dhoni, who has been listed as an uncapped player after the new rule introduced by BCCI which treats players who retired from international cricket for five years or more as uncapped players, has led CSK to five IPL titles in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023 and two Champions League trophies as well.

CSK last IPL title also came under Dhoni’s leadership in 2023. This is the second time in last three seasons that Dhoni returned as captain in the middle of the tournament. In 2022, Dhoni replaced Ravindra Jadeja as captain after CSK got off to a horrendous start in the tournament. Jadeja did not take further part in that season due to an injury.

This year too, CSK have lost four out of their five matches and are currently at the ninth spot in the 10-team league.

Ruturaj Gaikwad played two games with fracture

Fleming said Gaikwad battled immense pain for the last two games and tried everything possible to regain fitness but when he went for an MRI, it revealed a fractured on his elbow. He was hit by a Tushar Deshpande bouncer during CSK’s league game at Guwahati against Rajasthan Royals on March 30. He played CSK’s next two games against Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings as the X-ray reports were inconclusive but once the MRI was done, the fractured was revealed.

“He [Gaikwad] got hit in Guwahati. He’s been operating with an amount of pain,” Fleming said. “We got an X-ray, which was inconclusive, and we had an MRI, which revealed a fracture in his elbow, in the radial neck.

“So we’re disappointed and feel for him. We appreciate the efforts that he’s gone to in terms of trying to play, but unfortunately, he’d be out of the tournament from now. We have an uncapped player, MS Dhoni, who will take over as captain for the remainder of the IPL.”

The former New Zealand captain said CSK would look at replacements for Gaikwad, who was the team’s second-highest run-scorer with 122 runs at a strike rate of 150.61.

“We’ll look at replacements. We’ve got some good players in the squad that have been with us a while, so we’ll look from within first. But yeah, there is an opportunity to see how we can enhance the squad probably moving forward into subsequent years.”