"That preparation started long back" - Irfan Pathan dissects Ruturaj Gaikwad's road to CSK captaincy in IPL 2024

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan revealed that the preparation behind Ruturaj Gaikwad succeeding MS Dhoni as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper had started long ago. Pathan observed that Dhoni has started trusting Gaikwad more and doesn't want to make the same mistakes as it happened during Ravindra Jadeja's tenure.

A day before IPL 2024 started, Dhoni relinquished his leadership duties and handed over the reins to Gaikwad. The 27-year-old has done a commendable job so far, winning both matches. The defending champions are currently on top of the points table with two wins from as many games.

Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, Irfan Pathan revealed that Ruturaj Gaikwad had started spending a lot of time with Dhoni during the Vijay Hazare Trophy, learning the tricks of leading a team.

"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."

The 39-year-old lauded MS Dhoni for letting Gaikwad make the decisions and lend support whenever required. Pathan said:

"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.”

Gaikwad has also been a consistent run-getter in the last three IPL seasons, racking up over 1200 runs. The Maharashtra batter won the Orange Cap in the 2021 edition, hammering 635 runs.

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"Dhoni is here and he’s always going to be there" - Irfan Pathan

MS Dhoni. (Image Credits: Getty)

Irfan Pathan praised Ruturaj Gaikwad's willingness to create his own legacy and step out from Dhoni's shadows. 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.”

The Super Kings' two wins have come against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans.