IPL 2024: CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan takes indirect dig at MI over captaincy change
The transition of captaincy at CSK has been smooth unlike MI.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) CEO Kasi Viswanathan indirectly took a swipe at Mumbai Indians’ (MI) captaincy change while speaking to CSK in an official YouTube video. The landscape and complexion of the latter franchise totally changed for the worse after Hardik Pandya was appointed as the new captain. MI team management took a bold call by sacking Rohit Sharma from the captaincy post ahead of IPL 2024.
On the other side of the coin, CSK gleefully accepted Ruturaj Gaikwad as the new captain in IPL 2024. There was literally a stark contract between CSK fans and the MI fans’ atmosphere at the stadium. While there was support pouring in for Ruturaj from the CSK fraternity, it wasn’t the same case when it came to Hardik.
Things turned from bad to worse when the MI fans crossed limits to boo their new captain during the game. In reality, the majority of the MI fans weren’t even ready to accept him in the first place. Under Hardik’s captaincy, MI failed to qualify for the playoffs. They went on to finish the league stage at the bottom of the points table with four win and 10 defeats.
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Ruturaj Gaikwad was accepted by the crowd: Kasi Viswanathan
Ruturaj Gaikwad did pick up valuable lessons from MS Dhoni. The five-time IPL champions nearly made it to the playoffs. Unfortunately, they were knocked out by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the must-win game.
CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan pointed out that CSK fans accepted Gaikwad as the captain. CSK CEO specifically didn’t bring Mumbai Indians directly in the conversation. He stressed that there was a smooth transition at CSK camp with regards to captaincy change.
“Ruturaj was identified as a captaincy material from the day he joined us. We had a discussion with the team management about the future leader, who can replace MS Dhoni. Both Fleming and Dhoni strated grooming Ruturaj as a future captain. Whenever he spoke to Dhoni and Fleming about the game and planning, they both realised that the opening batter was tailor made for the leadership role. He did well as a captain this season. Ruturaj was helped by seniors and he contributed as a batter as well,” Viswanathan told CSK.
“Gaikwad was accepted by the crowd. If there is a pressure from the fans, you can see what happened with other captains. The management doesn’t believe in interfering with the cricketing related matters. It helped Ruturaj and the other players. They all are professionals and know everything about the game and its requirements,” he stated.
