00:00 Mahendra Singh Dhoni has stepped down as the captain of the Chennai Super Kings with Rudraj
00:10 Kaikwad named the new skipper ahead of the new IPL season beginning on Friday.
00:15 Dhoni, who led CSK to five IPL titles, will continue to be available as a player for the
00:21 season and barring any last-minute injury scars, will keep wickets against Royal Challengers
00:27 Bengaluru on Friday.
00:29 Though the move to change captain on the eve of the season may come as a surprise, behind
00:34 the scenes, the Super Kings have been grooming Kaikwad for the role.
00:37 In 2022, days before the new season in Maharashtra, Dhoni had handed over the reins to Ravindra
00:43 Jadeja, but the move backfired, with Jadeja stepping down as captain midway through the
00:48 season and Dhoni taking charge again.
00:51 And ahead of the 2023 IPL, CSK got Ben Stokes as captaincy option, but with the all-rounders
00:56 struggling with fitness issues, they had turned their eyes on Kaikwad.
01:00 Though the 27-year-old isn't a regular member of the India set-up, the opener is admired
01:05 all through the franchisee set-up.
01:08 Having come into the CSK system in 2019, he made his debut in 2020, where he started with
01:13 three Man of the Match awards in three successful matches.
01:17 Then in 2021, as Chennai won the fourth title, he was the orange cap holder.
01:22 And since then, he has established himself as a regular member of the side.
01:26 During the 2022-23 domestic season, during Vijay Hazare trophy campaign, Kaikwad spent
01:32 considerable time with Dhoni, where the first steps were taken towards a change of guard.
01:37 That it happened in Ranchi without any media glare was a typical Dhoni style of passing
01:41 the baton, just like he did with Virat Kohli with the Indian team.
01:45 Having used the Maharashtra set-up to groom himself to the role, Kaikwad now steps into
01:50 Dhoni's shoes.
01:51 Meanwhile, MS Dhoni arrived in Chennai in the first week of March and has been leading
01:56 CSK's training sessions at the MH Dhamram Stadium, which hosts the IPL 2024 season opener
02:02 between CSK and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
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