"He can lead the team for 7-8 or even 10 years"- Ambati Rayudu on Ruturaj Gaikwad being CSK's future captain

Former India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Ambati Rayudu believes opener Ruturaj Gaikwad has what it takes to become the team's next captain after MS Dhoni calls time on his career.

Gaikwad has been prolific for CSK for the past three seasons and Rayudu feels he can be groomed by Dhoni into the player who could potentially take the team forward for the next ten years.

Speaking in an interview on Behindwoods TV, here's what Ambati Rayudu had to say about Ruturaj Gaikwad:

"Coming to the future, I think Ruturaj has a great chance. He has those leadership qualities in him. So if Mahi bhai grooms him say a year or so, then he can lead the team for 7-8 or even 10 years. He is in good hands with Mahi bhai and Fleming. He is calm, down-to-earth and extremely talented."

Rayudu is also hopeful that Gaikwad starts playing all three formats for India regularly. He added:

"India makes the best use of him (Gaikwad). I don't think they are at the moment. He should be playing every format for India."

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Ambati Rayudu on MS Dhoni's retirement

Having just won the IPL 2023 title, many feel MS Dhoni could retire and end on a high. However, Ambati Rayudu shed light on how fit the CSK skipper is and feels it should completely be up to Dhoni on how long he wishes to play.

On this, he stated:

"He should play as long as he wants to play and should get to decide when he wants to retire. People shouldn't get in this conversation at all. It's not for people to decide when he should retire.

"People haven't decided what he should do for the last 30 years and I don't think they should have an opinion on that."

It will be interesting to see if Dhoni returns to CSK as a player next season, having recently undergone a successful knee surgery.