Ruturaj Gaikwad out of squad after injury, MS Dhoni is the new CSK captain but why is Ruturaj playing football!

Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was ruled out of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, has been spotted playing football with his Chennai Super Kings (CSK) colleagues. Gaikwad suffered an elbow injury after he was hit on a short ball by Rajasthan Royals (RR) pacer Jofra Archer in a game at Guwahati. In his absence, MS Dhoni is leading the CSK side for the rest of the season. Meanwhile, a video of the former CSK skipper is trending high on social media, featuring him playing football during training sessions. However, it is not clear whether the video is a recent one or an old one. But, it certainly has left CSK fans wondering if Gaikwad is suffering from injury in real or has been shown the door due to the team's poor performance in the season.

Stephen Fleming on Gaikwad's injury

In the post-match presser, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming shared the news about Gaikwad's elbow injury and said, ''He got hit in Guwahati (vs RR). He's been operating with an amount of pain. We got an X-ray, which was inconclusive, and we had an MRI, which revealed a fracture in his elbow, in the radial neck.''

''So we're disappointed and feel for him. We appreciate the efforts that he's gone to in terms of trying to play, but he will be out of the tournament,'' he added.

Injured Ruturaj gaikwad playing football currently. pic.twitter.com/dNJgQ7Dn4S

— Juylov Vladislav (@juylov_vlad) April 10, 2025

CSK in IPL 2025

Chennai Super Kings began their IPL campaign against Mumbai Indians (MI) and won the game by 4 wickets. However, this is the only game in this season, which CSK has won so far. In the next game, CSK faced a crushing 50-run defeat by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

CSK played its third game against Rajasthan Royals, which RR won by just 6 runs. The Yellow Army lost its next game against Delhi Capitals at Chepauk. CSK's losing streak continued against Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as well.