The IPL 2024 has come to almost an end. The entire cricket fraternity experienced a thrilling T20 tournament with a span of two months. But a big surprise came just before the beginning the ongoing season. Two leading franchises announced their new captains. MI got Hardik Pandya and CSK got Ruturaj Gaikwad. The CSK fans welcomed their new captain wholeheartedly. Commenting on CSK’s captaincy change, the team’s CEO, Kasi Viswanathan, expressed satisfaction, stating that the seamless transition benefited both fans and players alike.
Biggest Captaincy Switches in IPL:
The IPL 2024 has seen two big captaincy switches. Those were two surprises and created two different responses from the fans. After being traded from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians, Hardik Pandya was appointed as the captain of the franchise. That fact didn’t sit well with the fans. They protested and the franchise faced several backlashes. Even in the matches, skipper Hardik Pandya was booed brutally.
But there was a different scenario in the Chennai Super Kings camp. Just a day before the start of the tournament, CSK management announced Ruturaj Gaikwad’s name as their captain. After the announcement, CSK fans accepted their new captain wholeheartedly. They supported him throughout the season and cheered him in every situation.
CSK CEO Reveled the Back Story of the Decision:
Discussing CSK’s change in captaincy, the team’s CEO, Kasi Viswanathan, mentioned that the seamless transition was beneficial for both supporters and teammates. He said, “The discussions we had with the team management from before a couple of years when Ruturaj came into the CSK and started performing well, we felt that he will be a good choice to captain the side. Both Flem (Fleming) and MS (Dhoni) had long discussions with him, they had plans to make him as a future captain.”
Later he added, “His performances and also the way he approached the game, and his thoughts whenever he spoke with MS as well as Fleming… both of them felt that he’ll be a good captain at CSK. And we were not disappointed. He led the side comfortably. The seniors also helped him. It has not affected his performance with the bat. He has continued to be a very consistent performer.”
As a captain, MS Dhoni won five IPL trophies for Chennai Super Kings and gave a lot of success to the team. Several player’s futures got a better shape under his guidance. Getting the captaincy from a legend like Dhoni is a matter of pressure for Ruturaj. CSK CEO also talked about this.
He said, “The pressure of captaincy has not affected him. We look forward to his contribution to CSK in the future. The pressure is too high because he’s following the footsteps of MS Dhoni. Nobody can match him, but MS had the confidence that Rutu (Gaikwad) has it in him to do a very good job. The acceptance from the crowd really helped him for sure, that is for sure. Because if there is pressure from the crowd, you can imagine what happened to other captains.”
CSK CEO on not interfering in cricketing side:
The CSK CEO emphasized that CSK’s management refrained from influencing cricket-related choices, allowing Gaikwad and other team members to make decisions with clarity. He said, “I think CSK fans accepted what MS Dhoni had given to Ruturaj as captain because he (Dhoni) had chosen him. The team management chose him as the captain. And all of you know, never has the management of CSK interfered with the cricketing matters. So, that helped Rutu also, because he was very clear that the instructions have come from team management. He had the responsibility to deliver. I’m confident he will do very well in the future years also.”
Later he added, “Definitely, the CSK management, as well as the fans, have helped the CSK team to do very well. That is important because there is no interference in creating matters with the team. They are left with their job to do. It adds more responsibility to the team. They know now there is not going to be interference from the management, which means they have to deliver. They are professionals; they have to deliver. That has helped us.”
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