Ruturaj Gaikwad ruled out of IPL 2025 due to elbow fracture, new CSK captain confirmed

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has been ruled out of the rest of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 with an elbow injury. The news was confirmed by head coach Stephen Fleming in the pre-match press conference ahead of CSK's game against Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday, April 10 (via Cricbuzz).

Former captain MS Dhoni will take over as the captain of the franchise for the remainder of the season.

"He got hit in Guwahati. He's been operating with an amount of pain. We got an X-ray, which was inconclusive, and we had an MRI, which revealed a fracture in his elbow, in the radial neck.

"So we're disappointed and feel for him. We appreciate the efforts that he's gone to in terms of trying to play, but unfortunately, he'd be out of the tournament from now. We have an uncapped player, MS Dhoni, who will take over as captain for the remainder of the IPL," Fleming said on Thursday (via ESPN Cricinfo).

Gaikwad sustained an elbow injury during the IPL match against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati on Sunday, March 30. The batter was hit by a delivery from Tushar Deshpande during CSK's chase of 182 runs.

There was speculation that he would miss CSK's next match against Delhi Capitals. But Gaikwad walked out to the toss and batted in the second innings of the match.

Gaikwad replaced Dhoni as captain ahead of the 2024 IPL and led CSK to a fifth-place finish in the tournament. This will be the second time that Dhoni would lead the franchise, midway into the season.

Ahead of the 2022 IPL, Ravindra Jadeja was appointed the new CSK captain. But a disastrous run of the results at the start of the tournament led to Dhoni taking over the captaincy. CSK failed to make it to the playoffs that season, finishing in ninth place on the points table.

Dhoni took over the reigns the following year and led CSK to their fifth title, thereby equalling the tally of Mumbai Indians.

MS Dhoni hopes to revive CSK's struggling fortunes

MS Dhoni takes over the CSK reigns at a time when the franchise find themselves at ninth place on the points table, with one win in five matches. They take on Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai on Friday next.

Dhoni has led CSK in 226 matches, with the team winning 133 matches and losing 91.