MS Dhoni to Lead CSK After Ruturaj Gaikwad Ruled Out of IPL 2025 with Elbow Injury

In a significant turn of events, MS Dhoni will once again don the captaincy hat for Chennai Super Kings for the remainder of the IPL 2025 season. This comes after Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out of the tournament due to an elbow injury sustained during CSK's match against Rajasthan Royals on March 30.

Gaikwad, who had been leading CSK this season, was struck on the forearm by a delivery from fast bowler Tushar Deshpande during a tense chase against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati. Despite the painful blow, Gaikwad continued to bat and played a crucial knock of 63 runs in the match. However, the injury seemed to worsen in the following games, and he struggled to find his form. He scored just 5 runs against Delhi Capitals and 1 run against Punjab Kings, both in the subsequent matches.

CSK's head coach, Stephen Fleming, confirmed that an initial X-ray had failed to reveal the full extent of the injury, but an MRI scan later showed a fracture in the radial neck of Gaikwad's elbow. Fleming expressed disappointment over the injury, noting that Gaikwad had been playing through significant pain in a bid to help his team.

"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. So we're disappointed and feel for him. We appreciate the efforts he's put in to continue playing, but unfortunately, he’ll be out of the tournament from now."

With Gaikwad's absence, Dhoni will take charge of the team for the remainder of the season. The legendary wicketkeeper-batsman had previously captained CSK from 2008 until 2024 before passing the baton to Gaikwad. Dhoni had also briefly returned to the role in 2022 after Ravindra Jadeja struggled to lead the team through a challenging campaign.

Under Dhoni's leadership, CSK has enjoyed immense success, winning five IPL titles in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, and 2023, as well as two Champions League titles. Fleming assured that Dhoni had no hesitation in stepping up to guide the team through this difficult period.

"He had no hesitation to step up and help guide us out of this if we can," Fleming said. "That was never a doubt. We'll look at replacements. We've got some good players in the squad who have been with us a while, so we'll look from within first."

Currently, CSK finds itself struggling at the bottom of the IPL points table, with only one win from their first five matches, sitting in ninth place just above Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The Super Kings will be looking to bounce back in their next home game against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, before heading into away matches against Lucknow Super Giants on April 14 and Mumbai Indians on April 20.

With Dhoni back at the helm, CSK will hope to turn their fortunes around and mount a challenge for yet another title in IPL 2025.