Irfan Pathan, a former Indian all-rounder, said that the preparations for Ruturaj Gaikwad to succeed MS Dhoni as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain began long ago. Pathan observed that Dhoni has begun to trust Gaikwad more and does not want to repeat the mistakes made during Ravindra Jadeja’s stint.
The IPL 2024 was about to begin, Dhoni resigned as leader. He gave responsibility to Gaikwad. Though only twenty-seven years old, Gaikwad led skillfully so far. CSK had two wins from two games played. They are table toppers right now. Defending champions are performing admirably under Gaikwad’s captaincy.
Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, Irfan Pathan said that Ruturaj Gaikwad began spending a lot of time with Dhoni during the Vijay Hazare Trophy, studying the intricacies of team leadership.
“What has happened is last to last year, when Vijay Hazare was going on, he was spending lot of time with MS Dhoni,” Pathan said. “After the game, he used to spend time with Dhoni and he learned a lot of tricks. That preparation started long back, about one and a half years ago.
“At the same time, Fleming as a coach, has a lot of leadership courses as well. So obviously, he has attended that as well. That helps.”
Irfan Pathan
The 39-year-old praised MS Dhoni for allowing Gaikwad to make the decisions and providing assistance where needed. Pathan stated:
“And now, Dhoni has started to trust him and said, okay, what mistake we did with Ravindra Jadeja as a leader, we don’t want to do the same mistakes. We want to give more responsibility to our captain, which is Ruturaj Gaikwad. He is a young captain, so let him make more decisions.”
Irfan Pathan
Gaikwad has also been a steady run-getter over the previous three IPL seasons, totaling over 1200 runs. The Maharashtra batsman won the Orange Cap in the 2021 season, scoring 635 runs.
“Dhoni is here and he’s always going to be there” – Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan applauded Ruturaj Gaikwad’s resolve to forge his own history and emerge from Dhoni’s shadow. He added:
“Yes, Dhoni is here and he’s always going to be there. But in terms of field placement, last match he did that as well. And even now, getting in his own flavour which is important.
“One thing I like about Ruturaj Gaikwad, in the first pre-match interview, ‘I can’t fill the shoes of MS Dhoni’. He needs to create his own and I really like that. If he’s going to do that, this is when he’s going to become a really good leader, which has been very visible on the ground when he’s making decisions.”
Irfan Pathan
The Super Kings’ two victories have come against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the Gujarat Titans.