The murmurs have finally come true: A day before their opening game in IPL 2024, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has decided to step down from captaincy at Chennai Super Kings, handing over the reins to Ruturaj Gaikwad.

The opener was learnt to have been alerted about his new leadership role by Dhoni in advance but the rest of the players and support staff were made aware of the captaincy change only on Thursday morning.

Several of the players were taken by surprise by Gaikwad’s presence at the Captains’ IPL conclave in Chennai on Thursday but were soon informed about the change of guard at CSK. The BCCI made the official announcement first through its IPL handle on social media.

Minutes later, CSK came out with a mail to all its stakeholders, informing about Gaikwad’s elevation. “MS Dhoni has handed over Chennai Super Kings’ captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of the start of IPL 2024,” CSK said in a statement. “Ruturaj has been an integral part of Chennai Super Kings since 2019 and has played 52 matches in IPL during this period.”

Sources said Dhoni wanted to groom Ruturaj while he was still around as a player and that prompted the quick call.

“At CSK, we leave all such cricketing decisions to MS and (Stephen) Fleming. We don’t get involved in such matters. We were told about it this morning by MS during the meeting of the team management,” Kasi Viswanathan, chief executive of CSK, told The Telegraph.

“MS must have told Rutu about his new role in advance to help him prepare mentally. Mr N. Srinivasan (managing director of India Cements, which owns the franchise) was also informed on Thursday.”

Viswanathan confirmed that Thala, as Dhoni is
affectionately called by Chennai fans for his leadership prowess, is available as a player and will play all matches this season.

The defending champions begin their campaign against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Chennai on Friday.

Dhoni, 42, had successfully led CSK to their fifth title last year and vowed to return for at least one more season, fitness permitting. Troubled by a knee injury right through last season, Dhoni underwent surgery in Mumbai, days after the 2023 final.

The line of succession had been laid down by CSK for quite some time and the 27-year-old Ruturaj was being trained for his new responsibility. The franchise had been cautious after their move to put Ravindra Jadeja in the hot seat in 2022 backfired. The all-rounder had to step down midway through the season with Dhoni being reinstated again.

A lot of backroom drama was involved before Jadeja was pacified and reunited with the squad last season. He was the hero in the final, smashing a six and a four off the last two balls on the way to the title.

Gaikwad is understood to have regularly been attending the core group meetings, chaired by Fleming, since last year. His calm demeanour in pressure situations
has impressed the team management.

How he lives up to the challenge could determine CSK’s chances in the IPL. Ruturaj has to justify Dhoni’s call.