With 5 Indian Premier League (IPL) titles under their belt, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are a symbol of consistency and class. Previously led by talismanic skipper MS Dhoni, Chennai Super Kings have always displayed tremendous levels of consistency and have been displaying class.
They last won a title in IPL 2023 when Ravindra Jadeja smashed Mohit Sharma for a 6 and a 4 when it was 10 needed off 2 balls. Overall, Chennai are the joint-most successful franchise in the history of the IPL: they are currently tied with Mumbai Indians (MI), who also have bagged 5 IPL titles.
Just ahead of the IPL 2024 season, MS Dhoni had handed over the captaincy reigns of CSK to Ruturaj Gaikwad and the youngster has been the captain since then.
In this article, we take a look at the complete list of CSK captains in the IPL:
1. MS Dhoni (IPL 2008- IPL 2023)
The most successful captain in the history of this league, MS Dhoni has won 5 IPL titles for Chennai Super Kings and has a win percentage of 58.84 which is 3.78% more than Rohit Sharma, who is next in the list with a win percentage of 55.06. MS Dhoni has led the team with his astute captaincy skills and is one of the greatest to have ever played in this league.
2. Suresh Raina (IPL 2010- IPL 2019)
Affectionately known as “Chinna Thala”, Suresh Raina is another superstar from CSK. He has played for Chennai Super Kings for several franchises and was a sheer match-winner for them. His ability to smear the bowlers all across the park and price out timely wickets with his off-spin made him an indispensable part of the CSK franchise.
3. Ravindra Jadeja (IPL 2022)
After MS Dhoni had initially called it quits from captaincy in IPL 2022, it was Ravindra Jadeja who took up the captaincy. He had a torrid start to his stint and left the captaincy after 8 games. Jadeja cited the reasons that he wanted to “focus more on his game”. This was the reason why Jadeja relinquished the CSK captaincy.
4. Ruturaj Gaikwad (IPL 2024- Present)
The Orange Cap (Most Runs in an IPL season) Award had gone to Ruturaj Gaikwad in IPL 2021 for mustering 635 runs and that announced that Gaikwad belonged to the big stage. Taking over the captaincy of a highly successful franchise is no easy job but Gaikwad has now settled into the role.
CSK had finished in the 5th position in IPL 2024 and had narrowly missed out on a place in the playoffs.
