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Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batting coach Michael Hussey said it was a massive challenge for Ruturaj Gaikwad to captain CSK while following the legendary wicketkeeper and former skipper MS Dhoni in the team but the Australian believe that the opener did a great job.
Dhoni surprised many, including Hussey, by handing up the leadership to Ruturaj Gaikwad at the start of the season. However, the transfer has been simple since Gaikwad was already being prepared for the post and Dhoni is also there to help him. "MS sort of announced that he was not going to be attending the pre-tournament captains meeting. And we're like, 'Oh, no. What's going on? He said Ruturaj was going to be captain from then on. So it was a little bit of a shock to start with but it has been managed really well," Hussey said on ESPN's Around the Wicket show "I know Stephen Fleming [head coach] had been working closely with Ruturaj in the lead-up to the tournament. In fact, he has been grooming him for a couple of years now. We have sort of known for a little while that he was the right man to take over the job when MS decided to step aside," he added. "MS wanted to still be here while the new captain took over, to try to help him along the way and sort of mentor him a little bit. So that's worked really well as well. And obviously, Stephen Fleming is a great role model for him [Gaikwad] as well. So it's been quite seamless actually." Hussey also said that Gaikwad has been really calm and measured on the field and believes that the opener will get better with time and more support CSK keep around him. CSK has won seven of its first thirteen games under Gaikwad's leadership. They are now third in the points standings, and a win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Saturday will secure a playoff position. Gaikwad himself has played an important role with the bat as he is now the league's second-highest run-getter, with 583 runs and a strike rate of 141.50. "He is a great guy, Ruturaj, very calm. He is a good thinker of the game. I mean it was always going to be a massive challenge for him, you know, how do you follow someone like MS Dhoni - it was going to be tough. But he has done a great job. He has been really calm and measured on the field. I think he will just get better and better the more he does it and the more support we keep around him," Hussey said. "From my point of view, the pleasing thing is, it has not affected his batting at all either. He has performed extremely well with the bat. So it has been really good so far," he added. (ANI)
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