Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
With the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 progressing further, there could be a possibility of seeing former India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni return to the helm when the five-time champions take on Delhi Capitals (DC) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday, April 5. According to several reports, MS Dhoni could be seen leading the Yellow Army once again as the side is sweating on the availability of their skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad.
It is to be noted that Ruturaj Gaikwad took over the CSK reigns from MS Dhoni ahead of IPL 2024 after the veteran cricketer decided to play as a pure wicketkeeper-batter. Although, the 43-year-old continues to be the face of the franchise, but on Saturday, he could once again be seen leading if Gaikwad fails to be available due to an injury which he picked up in CSK’s last match.
MS Dhoni to lead CSK vs DC in IPL 2025: Reports
Gaikwad was hit in the right arm by Tushar Deshpande’s delivery, that bounced from a short of good length. Since his injury against RR, Gaikwad hasn’t trained and CSK batting coach Mike Hussey on Friday, April 4 confirmed that a call would be taken after how he goes about in the net session.
“Yeah,, we’re hoping he’s 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 hopeful, very confident that he’ll be fine for tomorrow (Saturday),” Hussey said on the eve of CSK’s match. It is to be noted that if Gaikwad fails to get fit and seeing there is no captaincy option available, the team could go back to MS Dhoni.
When asked about who will step into the role if Gaikwad isn’t fit, Hussey added, “ I’m not sure, actually. I don’t think we’ve actually thought about that too much. Well, I haven’t thought about it too much. I’m sure (Stephen) Fleming and Rutu (Ruturaj) have thought about it.” “But we’ve got some young guy coming through. He’s behind the stumps. Maybe he can do a good job. I’m not sure. He’s got a bit of experience in the role, so maybe he could do it. But I’m not exactly sure, to be honest,” Hussey continued, hinting to Dhoni, without taking his name.
Chennai Super Kings’ IPL 2025 squad
Ruturaj Gaikwad, MS Dhoni, 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.
