Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming said Mahendra Singh Dhoni had ‘no hesitation in stepping up’ as captain after regular skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out of the remainder of the IPL 2025 season due to a hairline fracture of the elbow.

Speaking to the media on the eve of the must-win clash against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders at the Chepauk on Thursday, Fleming said there was no second thought in handing back the reins to MSD, who had previously led the side to five titles.

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Under Dhoni’s leadership, CSK have won five IPL titles in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023 and two Champions League trophies as well.

“He (Dhoni) had no hesitation to step up and help guide us out of this if we can. So that was never a doubt. We’ll look at replacements. We’ve got some good players in the squad that have been with us a while, so we’ll look from within first. But yeah, there is an opportunity to see how we can enhance the squad probably moving forward into subsequent years,” Fleming said.

Elaborating on Gaikwad’s injury, Fleming said that the Maharashtra right-hander was struck on his unprotected elbow after stepping out to fast bowler Tushar Deshpande during the match against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati on March 30. He played two more games after that and made 5 against Delhi Capitals in Chennai on April 5 and 1 against Punjab Kings in Mullanpur on April 8.

“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,” Fleming said.

“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,” the former Kiwi skipper added.

Dhoni, 43, had led CSK from 2008 until 2024, when he handed the captaincy to Gaikwad. In 2022, he briefly handed the captaincy to Ravindra Jadeja but took back the leadership midway through a turbulent season.

Now back at the helm, MS Dhoni faces another challenge of reviving CSK’s faltering 2025 campaign, which begins with Friday’s outing against KKR.