MS Dhoni is back as the captain of Chennai Super Kings after Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out of IPL 2025. The CSK captain suffered a blow on his elbow against Rajasthan Royals but despite that, Gaikwad featured in the match against Punjab Kings. However, before hosting Kolkata Knight Riders at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming confirmed that Gaikwad had fractured his elbow and that Dhoni would take over the captaincy.
The legendary cricketer last led CSK in the 2023 final, which the Men in Yellow won by beating Gujarat Titans in the final delivery of the match. After that, the keeper-batter relinquished captaincy and continued as a regular player. Ahead of that IPL 2025 season, he was registered as an uncapped player after BCCI announced that teams can register players in that section if they haven’t played international cricket for five years.
Meanwhile, his first assignment since back as captain will be against the defending champions, KKR. However, his numbers against the KKR spinners are something that would concern the legendary cricketer. The 43-year-old has played against Sunil Narine in 15 innings and faced 74 deliveries, scoring only 39 runs. Has a strike rate of 52.7 and has hit only one boundary against the former West Indies cricketer.
| MS Dhoni | Sunil Narine |
| Innings | 15 |
| Runs | 39 |
| Balls | 74 |
| Strike Rate | 52.7 |
| 4/6 | 1/0 |
| Dismissals | 1 |
The numbers aren’t any better against Varun Chakaravarthy. The five-time IPL-winning captain faced 16 deliveries of the mystery spinner and scored only 11 runs. He hit only one boundary and Varun got the better of him thrice. Thus, it won’t be easy for Dhoni to have a good day with the bat against KKR on April 11.
| MS Dhoni | Varun Chakravarthy |
| Innings | 04 |
| Runs | 11 |
| Balls | 16 |
| Strike Rate | 68.8 |
| 4/6 | 1/0 |
| Dismissals | 3 |
This season, he was criticised for batting extremely lower down the order but against Punjab, returned to number five. Now, it needs to be seen if the cricketer continues in the middle order to once again move lower down the order in Ruturaj’s absence.