Former India batter Manoj Tiwary has urged Chennai Super Kings to revisit their captaincy call for Ruturaj Gaikwad after criticising the India international’s batting tempo during IPL 2026. On a demanding Chepauk pitch, Gaikwad struggled to 18 off 21 balls as CSK slipped to a five-wicket defeat in their last home outing of the season, leaving the franchise on the brink of elimination.
Concerns over Gaikwad’s batting rhythm and captaincy
Speaking after Chennai’s first-innings conclusion, Tiwary said the burden of succeeding MS Dhoni has been immense since Gaikwad took over the captaincy in 2024. While he acknowledged the challenge, he argued that the CSK skipper should concentrate on establishing his own identity at the club rather than trying to mirror Dhoni’s influence.
He pointed to Gaikwad’s output this season as evidence that the captaincy has not yet brought the needed momentum. In 13 innings, Gaikwad has scored 321 runs at a strike rate of 120.67, figures Tiwary felt have contributed to a batting approach that appears to lack flow.
“You said Ruturaj needs to fill his (Dhoni’s) shoes. I don’t think there are shoes that big yet. He should focus on creating his own legacy. To do that, he needs to do detailed study of his past matches, understand where he must improve, and only then prepare to take on the captaincy next season. A captain stays positive only when he is also scoring runs, but he isn’t scoring runs. He is lacking that fluency,” Tiwary said.
Where the innings told a story at Chepauk
- In the powerplay at Chepauk, Gaikwad managed just nine runs off 11 deliveries.
- During the first six overs, he became only the second batter in IPL 2026 to fail to hit a boundary.
- Across the match, his knock ended at 18 runs from 21 balls as Chennai lost by five wickets in their final home game of the campaign.
Even if Gaikwad’s overall totals do not fully suggest a complete loss of form—he remains Chennai’s second-highest run-scorer this season—Tiwary believes the way Gaikwad is batting has looked increasingly outdated. In CSK’s usual template at the top, Sanju Samson is often asked to attack while Gaikwad plays the anchor role from the other end. But Tiwary argued that when Samson fails to get going, Gaikwad has not consistently shifted gears to compensate, which can intensify pressure on the rest of the batting unit.
CSK can win without Dhoni, but plans must change
Despite the criticism, Tiwary highlighted one key positive for Chennai: the team has shown it can still win even without MS Dhoni. He stressed that while Dhoni’s role on the field cannot be replaced, results indicate CSK are capable of success without him, provided the management builds the side strategically from here.
“Right now, we know CSK can win matches without Dhoni. But if they change the captain, and also the wicketkeeper, nothing can replace his absence on the ground. Still, it has been confirmed that they can win without him. Now they need to think about how to shape the team,” he added.
Future captaincy debate: Samson in the frame
With Chennai’s defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad pushing them closer to looking beyond this season, Tiwary suggested Gaikwad’s position as skipper may not be secure. He proposed that the role could be handed to Samson—who has previously captained Rajasthan Royals and even steered them to an IPL final.
“Let’s see if he stays the captain next season, because I feel Samson is in the mix. And it would be a good call as well. If Chennai brought him for a specific reason, they may view him as a leader. Gaikwad has been captain for two seasons, and that’s why they extended it this season too. But Samson could be the skipper next year. No matter where they finish, they have to make a decision, and Samson is the best option because he led RR too and he is a strong batter as well,” Tiwary said.
Under Gaikwad, Chennai have missed the playoffs in every season. They finished fifth in 2024, ended at the bottom of the table in 2025, and currently have only a six per cent chance of qualifying for the knockout stage in IPL 2026.
