‘I’m shocked’: CSK stars on MS Dhoni captaincy change, comments on Ruturaj Gaikwad

The sudden change of captaincy of Chennai Super Kings from MS Dhoni to Ruturaj Gaikwad has made headlines. MS Dhoni has been the captain of CSK since the beginning of IPL. Ravindra Jadeja was named captain but he relinquished the captaincy after eight games. Now, Ruturaj Gaikwad’s appointment as CSK captain seems to be a long-term one. Last season, after CSK won their fifth IPL title, MS Dhoni hinted that he might shift to more of a coaching role.

Talking about the change, CSK star Shivam Dube said he was surprised.

“I found out two days ago and I was shocked. I think he has given it to the perfect person. Ruturaj is very Dhoni-like, very calm,” Dube said on Jio Cinema.

“It’s really interesting because I’ve played under him before. I know what kind of captain he is and how he behaves and what he expects from me.”

India all-rounder Shivam Dube says he enjoys the process of finishing crucial runs, an art he learned by shadowing his legendary CSK colleague MS Dhoni. Dube scored a crucial 34 runs and shared an unbeaten 66-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja (25 not out) to lead defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to a six-run victory Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Friday.

“It’s awesome. Finishing for Chennai always surprises me. This is something I learned from Mahi bhai and I try to do that in every game,” Dube told IPLT20.com, “When You finish the game feeling very much like a game like this, especially in the first game of the season. So, it always feels special.” Chasing a target of 174 runs, CSK got off to a confident start with debutant Rachin Ravindra (37 years old) becomes the main attacker. He is also the team’s top scorer.

The talented New Zealander praised his captain Ruturaj Gaikwad for his performance in the tough chase.

“It’s a pleasure to work with Rutu. Obviously, he has been doing it for Chennai for a long time,” he told Dube in an IPL video.

“His clinical play and the partnership he built with Jinx (Ajinkya Rahane) was very cool in front of the full crowd. The wickets were beautiful so it made life a lot easier.” Ravindra also cheered loudly for CSK at Chepauk of people were surprised.

“It was crazy; the crowd was unbelievable, one of the loudest crowds I’ve ever been through. It was unbelievable. Hopefully we can get some more wins here and keep the crowd going,” he concluded .

CSK will next play last season’s runners-up Gujarat Titans here on Tuesday.

With PTI input