"Nobody Expected MS Dhoni To…": Sehwag's Important Ruturaj Message

Ruturaj Gaikwad is off to a fine start as the captain of the Chennai Super Kings captian, leading the franchise to 3 wins in 5 matches. Gaikwad, who was chosen as MS Dhoni’s successor, by the ‘Thala’ himself, hasn’t disappointed though he would himself admit that his form with the bat could’ve been better. As CSK continue to take steps closer to playoffs qualification, Virender Sehwag gave an important piece of advice to Gaikwad, through the tale of Dhoni winning T20 World Cup 2007.

In a chat on Cricbuzz, Sehwag shared certain important captaincy insights, highlighting that when India won the ICC World T20 in 2007, no one expected Dhoni to lead the national team to the title.

“I had predicted this long back that he would be the captain of CSK because he had shown those signs and had the abilities. You can either look at a captain based on results or whether he has leadership abilities. And he has both. See, nobody expected MS Dhoni to win the T20 World Cup.

It’s only after Dhoni’s success in the shortest format that his reputation grew and India became contenders to win the 2011 ODI World Cup. Dhoni led the team to success in that event, as well as the following 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.

Similarly, Sehwag expects Gaikwad’s reputation to grow if CSK win the IPL this season.

“But after he won, the expectations became bigger and then they started thinking about making him the ODI captain as well. Same with Gaikwad, results will show with time, but he has definitely shown the signs that he is cool and calm and uses his bowlers well. He is the best player to captain CSK right now,” he said.

With the win CSK are placed 4th in the 10-team points table while KKR are second.