Irfan Pathan reflects on MS Dhoni's incredible journey as CSK skipper

On the eve of the curtain-raiser which involves the joint-most successful IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings going head-to-head with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Chennai, a particular development took the cricketing fraternity by storm.

It was none other than CSK declaring that the baton of captaincy would be transferred from the icon MS Dhoni to Ruturaj Gaikwad, which would be effective henceforth. This came as a shock to a lot of people as the general public assumed that the forthcoming season would be the last season where we would get to see MS Dhoni donning the Yellow and Gold as their absolute maestro, leading them to a record-equalling five IPL triumphs.

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Taking to X after CSK confirmed the change in leadership for IPL 2024, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan, who was with CSK during the 2015 edition but never got a chance to come off the bench, reflected on Dhoni's legacy in the marquee league, putting out a fervent message. He also wished luck to the freshly-instated skipper of CSK, Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Gaikwad, named as the next in line after Dhoni, has played in six ODIs and 19 T20Is for India. He made his debut for the Yellow Brigade in the 2020 edition and has made 52 appearances ever since, scoring 1797 runs at a strike rate and average of 139.57 and 39.07, respectively. With 635 runs under his belt, Gaikwad won the Orange Cap in his second season with the franchise in 2021. Gaikwad was retained by CSK for INR 6 crore prior to the 2022 edition.

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CSK face off RCB in the curtain-raiser of IPL 2024

The highly-anticipated opener of the seventeenth edition of the IPL will witness CSK take on RCB on March 22 at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.