Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings appointed new captains in the Indian Premier League 2024. Ruturaj Gaikwad replaced MS Dhoni, while Hardik Pandya was given the captain’s armband by sacking Rohit Sharma.
Gaikwad was welcomed by CSK fans but Pandya was booed. MI supporters were not ready to accept Hardik, considering the way Sharma was given his marching orders. Chennai won seven games and almost made it to the playoffs. However, the situation was not same for Mumbai. They registered just four wins and were the first franchise to be eliminated from the playoff race.
CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan spoke about the captaincy change and while he didn’t take MI’s name, he implied that the smooth transition helped the supporters and the players to look upto Gaikwad.
“Ruturaj was identified as a captaincy material from the day he joined us. We had a discussion with the team management about the future leader, who can replace MS Dhoni. Both Fleming and Dhoni strated grooming Ruturaj as a future captain,” Viswanathan told CSK in a YouTube video.
“Whenever he spoke to Dhoni and Fleming about the game and planning, they both realised that the opening batter was tailor made for the leadership role. He did well as a captain this season. Ruturaj was helped by seniors and he contributed as a batter as well,” he added.
“He was accepted by the crowd. If there is a pressure from the fans, you can see what happened with other captains. “
Viswanathan revealed that the CSK management didn’t say anything about the cricketing related decisions and that helped Gaikwad and other players.
“The management doesn’t believe in interfering with the cricketing related matters. It helped Ruturaj and the other players. They all are professionals and know everything about the game and its requirements.”
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