Seasoned performer M.S. Dhoni has passed on the leadership of IPL winners Chennai Super Kings to Ruturaj Gaikwad, the team announced on Thursday before the start of the tournament. Dhoni's team will face off against Virat Kohli's team in the exciting IPL season opener at Chennai." Dhoni has passed on the leadership of Chennai Super Kings to Ruturaj Gaikwad," the team announced. "Ruturaj has been a crucial member of Chennai Super Kings since 2019 and has participated in 52 games in the IPL during this time." The upcoming year might be the last for Chennai's experienced player Dhoni, after the battle-hardened leader guided the team to its fifth championship in 2023. He mentioned at that time that an additional year was a special present for his supporters. The 42-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman, who captained India to victory in the World Cup in 2007 and 2011, is still a big name in cricket-mad India. The new captain Gaikwad, a 27-year-old right-handed batsman, gained popularity in 2021 with his aggressive batting, scoring an impressive 635 runs for the Chennai Super Kings. The 17th season of the world's most lucrative cricket league is set to conclude around June 1, coinciding with the start of the World Cup in the West Indies and the United States. Due to the overlap with India's six-week general election, only the first two weeks of the IPL schedule have been released by organizers. In the previous year, the 10-squad IPL went on for eight weeks.