Following the IPL’s announcement, the Chennai Super Kings swiftly confirmed the news, stating, “MS Dhoni has relinquished the captaincy of the Chennai Super Kings to Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of the commencement of TATA IPL 2024. Ruturaj has been a vital member of the Chennai Super Kings since 2019, having participated in 52 IPL matches during this period,” as per a CSK statement.

CSK have been working on implementing the succession plan since 2022 when MS Dhoni relinquished the captaincy to Ravindra Jadeja. However, Dhoni resumed captaincy duties when the team failed to achieve the desired results. Dhoni led CSK in the latter part of the 15th edition of the IPL and also in 2023, guiding the team to their fifth title. Nevertheless, with the 2024 edition anticipated to be his final season, the change in captaincy doesn’t come as a surprise.

During Dhoni’s tenure, CSK clinched five IPL titles and two Champions League T20 titles, establishing themselves as the most consistent team in the tournament’s history across 14 seasons. Dhoni’s legendary era as captain has officially concluded, having led CSK in 226 IPL matches, the most for any captain, with the team emerging victorious in 133 of them.

Dhoni played his final match as captain against the Gujarat Titans on May 28, 2023. In this season, Dhoni played as a wicketkeeper-batsman in the IPL 2024.

Watch MS Dhoni’s final match as CSK captain

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