IPL 2025: Who has replaced Ruturaj Gaikwad in CSK squad?

Ruturaj Gaikwad has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 after sustaining an elbow injury. Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) campaign sans the Maharashtra batter starts on Friday, April 11, as they take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in match No. 25 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the iconic MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Chennai are on a four-match losing streak, coming into this clash on the back of an 18-run defeat against Punjab Kings in Mullanpur. They would want to turn things around quickly with MS Dhoni back in charge for the first time since the IPL 2023 final. Meanwhile, the Knights have two wins and three defeats from five matches. They lost to Lucknow Super Giants at home in their most recent fixture.

Toss Update

Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and opted to bowl first. He spoke about the positives from the last game and stressed the importance of improving. Rahane felt that the wicket won't change too much. Meanwhile, MS Dhoni mentioned that he would have batted first anyway. The former India skipper said that it is high time CSK start doing the basics right as they have lost quite a few games already.

Rahul Tripathi comes back in place of Ruturaj Gaikwad

CSK made a couple of changes to their lineup. Rahul Tripathi returns to the side in place of Ruturaj. Meanwhile, Anshul Kambhoj replaces Mukesh Choudhary. On the other hand, the Knights brought back Moeen Ali into the playing XI in place of Spencer Johnson.

CSK vs KKR, Match 25 - What did the captains say?

Ajinkya Rahane (Kolkata Knight Riders)

We'll bowl first. There were a lot of positives from the last game. We as a team played really well. It is about improving each game. (On the pitch) This looks like a good wicket, won't change much. We are batting deep, so that's why we look to bowl first and chase things down. One change - Moeen Ali comes in for Spencer.

MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings)

We were looking to bat first. Quite a few occasions where we tried to chase it down and what we realised is that the wicket slows down a bit, so if you don't get a good start then the middle order comes under pressure. (On Ruturaj) He has fractured something on his elbow, so he is ruled out of the tournament. He is a very authentic batter, someone who looks to time the ball well. So yeah, he will be a big miss. (On the importance of winning this game) It is important now, every game is important. We have lost too many matches and now it is important to do the basics right - have dot balls, take our catches. A couple of games we lost by big margins, but otherwise it was about the small things - about one over going for 20 runs. Our batters are more authentic as batters, they won't slog everything. They just need to back their instincts. It is important to start well, get boundaries early on and try to get a couple of early wickets as well. Couple of changes for us - Tripathi comes in for Ruturaj, and Anshul Kambhoj in for Mukesh.

CSK vs KKR, Match 25 - Playing XIs

Chennai Super Kings:

Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (WK & C), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed.

Impact Substitutes: Matheesha Pathirana, Jamie Overton, Deepak Hooda, Shaik Rasheed, Kamlesh Nagarkoti

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Quinton de Kock (WK), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Moeen Ali, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy.

Impact Substitutes: Kunal Singh Rathore, Shubham Dubey, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Kumar Kartikeya, Akash Madhwal