Former Indian all-rounder turned commentator Irfan Pathan said that the preparation behind Ruturaj Gaikwad succeeding MS Dhoni as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain had started long ago. Pathan also added that Dhoni has started trusting Gaikwad more and he doesn’t want to make the same mistakes as happened during Ravindra Jadeja’s term as well. Notably, a day before IPL 2024 started, Dhoni handed over the reins to Gaikwad and the youngster has done a commendable job so far as well.
Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, Irfan Pathan said that Ruturaj Gaikwad had started spending a lot of time with MS Dhoni during the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Pathan said: “What has happened is last to last year, when Vijay Hazare was going on, he was spending lot of time with MS Dhoni. 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.”
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He again shared, “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.”
However, Irfan Pathan also praised Ruturaj Gaikwad’s willingness to create his own legacy and step out from MS Dhoni’s shadows as well.
“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,” Irfan Pathan concluded.
