<p>Chennai: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/csk">Chennai Super Kings</a> were dealt a severe blow on Thursday as regular skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out of the IPL due to an elbow injury, a development that has brought back Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the leadership role.</p><p>CSK head coach Stephen Fleming confirmed the development.</p><p>"We have an uncapped player, MS Dhoni, who will take over as captain for the remainder of the IPL," Fleming told mediapersons ahead of the match against KKR on Friday.</p><p>Dhoni had previously captained CSK from 2008 till 2023 and won five IPL titles. He handed over the captaincy to Gaikwad ahead of the 2024 season.</p>.IPL 2025 | Time running out as strugglers CSK, KKR face off.<p>Gaikwad sustained the blow when he was hit by a short ball from Jofra Archer on March 30, and since then he has played two games.</p><p>"He got hit in Guwahati (vs RR). He's been operating with an amount of pain. We got an X-ray, which was inconclusive, and we had an MRI, which revealed a fracture in his elbow, in the radial neck," Fleming said.</p><p>While Gaikwad played through pain against Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings, the CSK medical team could only get his MRI done after the swelling subsided.</p><p>"So we're disappointed and feel for him. We appreciate the efforts that he's gone to in terms of trying to play, but, he will be out of the tournament."</p><p>The head coach also said that Gaikwad wanted to "continue" but the call to replace him had to be made.</p><p>While Gaikwad has easily been the best batter in the last five games, he has often been left frustrated by a floundering top order and below-par show by the middle order, where CSK haven't been able to chase anything in excess of 180.</p><p>CSK doesn't have too many options now apart from bringing back Rahul Tripathi in the top-three although he has looked terribly out of place so far.</p><p>Deepak Hooda, one of the seasoned CSK players, can come in the middle order.</p><p>CSK can also look at the untested Delhi boy Vansh Bedi to do some power hitting.</p><p>The Chennai team is entitled to a substitute player and it could be Mumbai teenager Ayush Mhatre filling in that slot.</p>
<p>Chennai: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/csk">Chennai Super Kings</a> were dealt a severe blow on Thursday as regular skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out of the IPL due to an elbow injury, a development that has brought back Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the leadership role.</p><p>CSK head coach Stephen Fleming confirmed the development.</p><p>"We have an uncapped player, MS Dhoni, who will take over as captain for the remainder of the IPL," Fleming told mediapersons ahead of the match against KKR on Friday.</p><p>Dhoni had previously captained CSK from 2008 till 2023 and won five IPL titles. He handed over the captaincy to Gaikwad ahead of the 2024 season.</p>.IPL 2025 | Time running out as strugglers CSK, KKR face off.<p>Gaikwad sustained the blow when he was hit by a short ball from Jofra Archer on March 30, and since then he has played two games.</p><p>"He got hit in Guwahati (vs RR). He's been operating with an amount of pain. We got an X-ray, which was inconclusive, and we had an MRI, which revealed a fracture in his elbow, in the radial neck," Fleming said.</p><p>While Gaikwad played through pain against Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings, the CSK medical team could only get his MRI done after the swelling subsided.</p><p>"So we're disappointed and feel for him. We appreciate the efforts that he's gone to in terms of trying to play, but, he will be out of the tournament."</p><p>The head coach also said that Gaikwad wanted to "continue" but the call to replace him had to be made.</p><p>While Gaikwad has easily been the best batter in the last five games, he has often been left frustrated by a floundering top order and below-par show by the middle order, where CSK haven't been able to chase anything in excess of 180.</p><p>CSK doesn't have too many options now apart from bringing back Rahul Tripathi in the top-three although he has looked terribly out of place so far.</p><p>Deepak Hooda, one of the seasoned CSK players, can come in the middle order.</p><p>CSK can also look at the untested Delhi boy Vansh Bedi to do some power hitting.</p><p>The Chennai team is entitled to a substitute player and it could be Mumbai teenager Ayush Mhatre filling in that slot.</p>