As MS Dhoni’s tenure as captain of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) drew to a close on Thursday, March 21, Rohit Sharma shared a poignant Instagram story.
Two of the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) most successful captains in history are Rohit and Dhoni. Although the former has guided the Mumbai Indians (MI) to five championships, the renowned batter-crownkeeper has equaled the captain of CSK in titles won.
Ruturaj Gaikwad was selected as CSK’s new captain on Thursday afternoon, which was a shocking announcement. He was the second player from the Super Kings to take Dhoni’s place as captain. Ravindra Jadeja assumed the captaincy prior to the 2022 Indian Premier League; however, he resigned mid-season and returned the reins to Dhoni.
Though neither Jadeja nor the CSK management confirmed the rumors, there were some indications that they were at odds. In the IPL 2023 final versus the Gujarat Titans, the star all-around player hit a boundary off the penultimate ball to help the Men in Yellow capture a record-tying fifth title.
The cricket community began expressing its congratulations to the former India captain, Dhoni, as soon as word spread that he was giving up the captaincy. Dhoni went on to establish the franchise as a dominant force in the league after being named captain during the team’s 2008 debut season. Ruturaj’s promotion marks the end of an era of greatness; thus, it’s a difficult day for his followers to contain their feelings.
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The match between CSK and MI is referred to as “El Clasico” whenever they square off. This interaction has been made even more memorable by Rohit and Dhoni. Rohit honored his former India teammate with an emotional Instagram message shortly after it was announced that Dhoni would be relinquishing his captaincy.
Remarkably, Rohit will not be leading Mumbai as captain for the first time since 2013. The Gujarat Titans traded for Hardik Pandya, who has taken his spot.
The first IPL 2024 match between the reigning champions and Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take place on Friday, March 22, at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium. On Sunday, March 24, Mumbai will open the season at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad against the Gujarat Titans.
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