What pops up in your mind when someone talks about Chennai Super Kings (CSK)? The yellow jerseys, the sound of the whistle, and, of course, the IPL trophies.
It wouldn’t have been possible for the franchise to taste success in five seasons without a strong leader. You perhaps know who we are talking about, but there are a few more players who have led this team.
In this article, we’ll look at all the CSK captains in IPL history.
1. MS Dhoni | 2008-2025
CSK are incomplete without MS Dhoni, aren’t they? This whole franchise has such a mad following, all thanks to this man.
CSK enjoyed tremendous success under MS Dhoni’s leadership. It was his clever captaincy that made CSK a force in the IPL.
His captaincy record speaks for itself. Dhoni has captained Chennai in over 200 games, with close to 130 victories out of them.
No other captain in the entire IPL history has captained a team in 200 games and won 100 matches! And MSD is only the second captain to win five titles in the IPL, all while at the helm of CSK.
Even outside the IPL, Dhoni’s magic transcended into the Champions League T20. CSK won two trophies in the now-defunct T20 league under his captaincy.
So it doesn’t come as a surprise when everyone rates him high as a skipper in the IPL.
2. Suresh Raina | 2010-2019
Suresh Raina was a trustworthy deputy to Dhoni in the CSK unit. Whenever Dhoni wasn’t available, Raina stood in for him.
The southpaw led the Super Kings in five games in the T20 league. CSK suffered four defeats under his leadership, with a solitary win on his captaincy debut in 2010.
Although Raina never became a full-time CSK captain, he went on to lead Gujarat Lions for the two seasons they played in 2016 and 2017.
3. Ravindra Jadeja | 2022-2022
Ravindra Jadeja has been synonymous with the franchise. He has been playing for CSK since 2012.
After Dhoni decided to step down ahead of the 2022 edition, Jadeja was chosen as his successor. He was the second player to captain CSK in a full-time capacity.
But Jadeja’s stint came to a sudden halt in the same season. The Super Kings struggled under his leadership, with only two victories in eight matches.
Somehow, the captaincy pressure affected his own performance, which resulted in him handing back the duties to MSD mid-season.
4. Ruturaj Gaikwad | 2024-2025
After a failed attempt at captaincy transition in 2022, Dhoni stepped down one more time to make way for Ruturaj Gaikwad. This move was kept under wraps till a day before the IPL 2024 season started.
Gaikwad had a mixed debut season as a skipper. While he was CSK’s best batter, the team won seven games and lost as many to slip out of the playoff race and failed to defend their title.
Nevertheless, he returned to lead the team in 2025, though an elbow injury cut short his season. In the five games Gaikwad captained in 2025, CSK managed a solitary win.
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