CSK suffer blow as Ruturaj ruled out of the IPL with MS Dhoni set to lead the side for the remainder of the tournament.
CSK suffer blow with Ruturaj Gaikwad’s IPL coming to an end due to injury.
MS Dhoni will captain Chennai Super Kings for the remainder of IPL 2025.
Before Friday’s home match against the Kolkata Knight Riders, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming verified the news. Given that CSK has lost four of their first five games this season, it is a serious setback for them. They are now ahead of Sunrisers Hyderabad at number nine in the standings.
Gaikwad sustained the injury on March 30 during CSK’s game against the Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati. After missing the ball in the second over of CSK’s fruitless chase and stepping out to fast bowler Tushar Deshpande, he was hit on his uncovered elbow. Despite this, he continued to bat and finished the game with 63.
Following that, he participated in two more games, scoring five against the Delhi Capitals in Chennai on April 5 and one against the Punjab Kings in Mullanpur on April 8. With 122 runs at a strike rate of 150.61 after five games, he was CSK’s second-highest run scorer; he has been their top scorer in the 2024 Indian Premier League.
“He [Gaikwad] got hit in Guwahati. He’s been operating with an amount of pain,” CSK head coach Stephen Fleming said in Chennai. “We got an X-ray, which was inconclusive, and we had an MRI, which revealed a fracture in his elbow, in the radial neck.
“So we’re disappointed and feel for him. We appreciate the efforts that he’s gone to in terms of trying to play, but unfortunately, he’d be out of the tournament from now. We have an uncapped player, MS Dhoni, who will take over as captain for the remainder of the IPL.”