Speculation had gripped the cricketing world over the past 24 hours with a chance that MS Dhoni could return to captain Chennai Super Kings (CSK) again in IPL 2025. The speculation gained momentum after CSK’s batting coach, Michael Hussey, announced that the usual skipper, Ruturaj Gaikwad, was in an injury cloud before their game against Delhi Capitals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Gaikwad’s availability was in doubt following a delivery from Tushar Deshpande that hit his hand while playing for CSK against the Rajasthan Royals. Fans soon started dreaming of a dramatic leadership return by the great MS Dhoni in front of the home crowd in Chennai.
“We’re hoping he’s (Ruturaj) going to try and have a bat today for training. And, yeah, it’s still a little bit sore, but it’s improving every day. So, we’re very hopeful, very confident that he’ll be fine for tomorrow (Saturday),” Hussey said on the eve of the match.
However, CSK fans’ dreams of seeing Dhoni lead again were dashed when Ruturaj Gaikwad walked out for the toss as captain against DC, putting all speculation to rest.
Captaincy Legacy of MS Dhoni Still Fresh
The 43-year-old MS Dhoni captained CSK for the last time in the 2023 IPL final when he led them to a historic fifth title. That iconic game, played in two days as a result of rain at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, was won by CSK over the Gujarat Titans under Hardik Pandya. In the victory, CSK tied Mumbai Indians’ record of five IPL titles with five and stopped Gujarat from taking a second straight title.
Dhoni, arguably the most successful IPL captain, has captained CSK in more than 220 games and boasts a remarkable win percentage of 58.84. In all these years, only three other players—Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ruturaj Gaikwad—have captained CSK.
If Dhoni had captained CSK against Delhi Capitals, he would have broken his record as the oldest captain in IPL history.
CSK’s Rocky Start in IPL 2025
The Chennai Super Kings are presently eighth on the points table with only two points from three matches. They had begun their campaign with a confidence-boosting four-wicket victory against arch-rivals Mumbai Indians but have since endured back-to-back losses to Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals.
While CSK hopes to get back on track, fans still believe that Dhoni, even though not captain, still has more moments of magic left in him this season.