Facing setback after setback, Chennai Super Kings have faced another major blow as Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has been ruled out of the remaining IPL 2025 Season. After the rule out, CSK announced MS Dhoni to be their next captain. Dhoni will take on skipper duties against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, April 11.
Ruturaj Gaikwad didn’t enjoy the captaincy, and his performances as a captain were below par. Before being ruled out of the IPL, the captain was struggling as the team was under major pressure and was failing constantly. Now, that captain has been ruled out and will not feature in any match for the team. The franchise can look up to the following players as his replacement. Here are the key players who can join the CSK squad to fill in his boots.
Three potential players to join CSK in Ruturaj’s replacement
Prithvi Shaw
Shaw went unsold for this IPL 2025 Mega auction but now can join CSK as Ruturaj replacement. He was part of Delhi Capitals squad in the IPL 2018 and was with them till 2024. Prithvi is an explosive right handed batsmen who has an fiery form and holds the ability to smash the opponents bowling order. He has played a total of 79 IPL matches and has accumulated 1892 runs so far. Making him part of the CSK squad could help CSK with their batting struggles and provide explosive starts to the franchise.
Ayush Mhatre
Mhatre has been called by the CSK management for trials and could feature for the team in place of Ruturaj. The 17-year-old Mumbai batter has been called by the team during mid-season trials, and that indicates that team management wants to keep him in their top batting options. The youngster has played in domestic cricket and has played nine first-class and seven List A matches so far. With Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway as their opening pairs, the No. 3 position could see one among Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, or Deepak Hooda taking charge, while Mhatre could be considered as a reserve option.
Rahul Tripathi
He is most likely a replacement for the Chennai Super Kings. He is currently part of the CSK squad and has also been part of the first three matches of the team, but was dropped out of the playing XI after his poor performance. After Ruturaj, Tripathi can be the best option but his poor form can go against him.The right-handed batter has played 98 IPL games, scoring 2,266 runs at a healthy strike rate of 139.02.
Apart from these three players, there could be a lot of other options for the franchise as a captain’s replacement. CSK can also look at the likes of Johnny Bairstow, Deepak Hooda, Mayank Agarwal, Finn Allen, Sam Billings, and KS Bharat as probable replacement options for Ruturaj Gaikwad
