IPL 2022 | Ruturaj Gaikwad might lead Chennai Super Kings in future, says Irfan Pathan

With the conclusion of IPL 2021, the IPL franchises are all set to prepare for the upcoming edition of the tournament. A mega auction will be held ahead of the 15th edition of the IPL, and the newly added tw franchise will also participate in the player's auction. The 10 teams of IPL will look forward to building their core team through picks in the mega auction.

CSK management have already confirmed that one of their retentions will be their captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. CSK's opening batsmen, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis were the consistent run-scorers in IPL 2021 for the Chennai-based franchise. Gaikwad earned the Orange Cap in IPL 2021 as he scored 635 runs from 16 matches with an average of 45.35. The IPL franchises are supposed to send their list of retained players by November 30 and it will be interesting to know the choices by CSK.

Meanwhile, former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull stated that CSK might retain Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, and current skipper, MS Dhoni, for the IPL 2022. Responding to the CSK retention choices by Simon Doull, Irfan Pathan agreed with his three retentions saying that the franchise will retain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ruturaj Gaikwad. He further added that Gaikwad might lead the team in the future. 

“Mahendra Singh Dhoni yes, Ravindra Jadeja yes, Ruturaj Gaikwad absolutely yes. You might see the future in him as far as the leadership is concern, what he has shown consistency, that has been outstanding," he said on Star Sports.

However, Pathan disagreed with Doull's pick of Faf du Plessis, and stated that the franchise will be looking forward to retaining Sam Curran or Moeen Ali instead of the former Proteas captain. Faf du Plessis, who scored 633 runs from 16 matches in IPL 2021, has been a consistent performer for the Chennai-based franchise in the cash-rich league.

Speaking on Faf du Plessis' chances to get retained, Pathan stated that the right-hand batsman is 37-year-old, and the team would not like to miss the services of a talented all-rounder.

"But the fourth one? Sometime back I was thinking about Faf du Plessis, he is 37-year-old. You don't wanna let go off an all-rounder, either it's Sam Curran or Moeen Ali. I would go with Moeen Ali for the fourth spot,” he added.