IPL 2024 - CSK's new skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad embraces leadership, says 'I want to try and be in my shoes, not fill Mahi Bhai's shoes'

After the grand opening ceremony of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, with the MA Chidambaram Stadium echoing in joy, the toss saw Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) opt to bat against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 17th edition season opener.

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During the toss, CSK's new skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad was asked by Ravi Shastri about the significant occasion and filling the big shoes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. However, being the calm and collected player that Ruturaj is, he gave a very nice answer, saying, "I feel privileged. But I want to try and be in my shoes, not fill Mahi Bhai's shoes."

When asked when he got to know he would be leading CSK, the new skipper said, "I got to know last week, but Mahi bhai hinted at it last year." He went on to speak about his squad and said, "Everyone is experienced here; sadly, we are missing Conway and Pathirana. We've got Rachin and Mitchell coming in through this year, so they should fit in well. 

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"It looks like a good pitch, a hard surface that should hold up well for the second innings. We have four overseas players - Mitchell, Rachin, Fizz, and Theekshana. The domestic player Sameer Rizvi is also making his debut."

As for RCB, who won the toss, Faf du Plessis said, "We'll bat first. It looks like a good wicket; conditions here are favourable for batting first."

When asked how he feels about being back at Chepauk, he added, "It's my first time back here, great to see the Chennai fans again, but I'm here with RCB, and hopefully, we can turn over a very good CSK team. Preparation has been good; we need to turn up now."

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Speaking about their new coach Andy Flower, Faf said, "He's a seasoned campaigner, brings that experience. At the auction, it was really good; our bowling resources fit well. We have more backup now. Hopefully, injuries won't bother us too much. Alzarri Joseph comes in tonight, and we have a few spinners in the middle. Since we are batting first, we'll see how it goes."

Teams:

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Ravindra Jadeja, Sameer Rizvi, MS Dhoni(w), Deepak Chahar, Maheesh Theekshana, Mustafizur Rahman, Tushar Deshpande

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Faf du Plessis(c), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik(w), Anuj Rawat, Karn Sharma, Alzarri Joseph, Mayank Dagar, Mohammed Siraj.