The former Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni opened up about his relationship with Ruturaj Gaikwad and the transition in captaincy. MS Dhoni backed Gaikwad to lead the side in his own way and to trust his instinct. He emphasized on the role that Stephen Fleming had during his captaincy and how that helped in his captaincy tenure.
It is quite predictable that the fans would draw immediate comparisons to Dhoni’s style of captaincy and after the early exit in this season, the criticisms intensified. But still, the veteran stated that he is always ready to offer advice but it is fine even if Gaikwad chooses not to follow any of those, because he will have to lead in his own distinct way.
"Well, what I told Rutu was to run it the way you want to run it, you know, because that’s how, with the help of Flem, that’s how I’ve run CSK for a very long time. And I always felt it’s a... it’s a game where the captain has to make the decisions. Yes, you take the coaches and the support staff into your account, but it’s not like football where the manager decides. Cricket is where as a captain, you know, you have to decide,” said MS Dhoni in his conversations with Ruturaj Gaikwad regarding the transition in captaincy.
Dhoni sheds light on his captaincy insights to Ruturaj Gaikwad
MS Dhoni has always been credited for his leadership skills on the field and he is regarded as the best captain that India has ever produced. To fill in the shoes of Dhoni, Gaikwad will have an immense role to do but he wouldn’t have had the start that he would have liked.
He emphasized on the importance of Gaikwad backing his own decisions and that he will have to use the help of the support staff as well. Dhoni stated that his advice was never given in such a manner that it was condescending or give Gaikwad a feeling that he had to follow what Dhoni tells him to do.
“Let’s say I come up with 10 advices, even if you don’t follow even one, you know, that is fair enough, because my job is to share my experience. But when you are the leader, you have to take that responsibility. You have to buy in. Okay, this is what it is. So for me, it was very important to suggest or give advice, but in a way where the tone or the wordings are such that, you know, he doesn’t feel as if, you know, it is something that he needs to do. I didn’t care who’s saying what. You know, if I’m confused I go to Fleming, you know, because everybody has a view,” added MS Dhoni.
Earlier on the CSK CEO, Kasi Viswanathan backed Ruturaj Gaikwad as the skipper of the side and now with the support of MS Dhoni as well, the CSK skipper would feel a lot better. The transition phase may have been a bit too harsh on the Chennai side as they haven’t qualified for the playoffs since their triumph in 2022. Ruturaj Gaikwad will be determined to make an impact in the next season and to implement his own style of captaincy to get CSK back to winning ways.
