Ambati Rayudu has identified MS Dhoni's successor at Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and it's not Ravindra Jadeja or Ben Stokes. Rayudu finished his trophy-laden IPL career by winning the 2023 edition with CSK in May 2023.
Dhoni, 42, guided CSK to a record-leveling fifth IPL title last season and after the final hinted at returning to play next season. The legendary wicketkeeper batter is expected to hang his boots after playing one or most probably two seasons and that has pushed not just CSK but all cricket fans wondering who will be his successor.
Jadeja seems a front-runner to don the captaincy role after Dhoni but he will be aged 35 during IPL 2024 and will not be an ideal candidate for the long-term plan. Ben Stokes, CSK's costliest-ever player, is making strides as captain in Test cricket but failed to feature regularly in the last IPL season.
The veteran Indian batter Ambati Rayudu feels that batter Ruturaj Gaikwad possesses all the leadership qualities required to captain CSK. He said that the CSK opener can lead the team for the next ten years if Dhoni grooms him for the role.
"Coming to the future, I think Ruturaj has a great chance. He has those leadership qualities in him," Rayudu said in an interview with Behindwoods TV on Saturday, July 22. "So if Mahi bhai grooms him say a year or so, then he can lead the team for 7-8 or even 10 years. He is in good hands with Mahi bhai and Fleming. He is calm, down-to-earth, and extremely talented. India makes the best use of him (Gaikwad). I don't think they are at the moment. He should be playing every format for India."
Gaikwad's name emerged as the next CSK skipper in the media when BCCI named him captain to lead India's T20I team during the Asian Games in Hangzhou this year. Gaikwad, 26, captained the Maharashtra team in Rahul Tripathi's absence in various domestic tournaments last year and has been a regular performer for CSK in IPL with 1797 runs in 51 innings at an average of 39.07 and a strike rate of 135.52 with one century and 14 fifties so far.
