Chennai makes two significant adjustments to MS Dhoni's return as captain for CSK vs. KKR

MS Dhoni is back as captain of Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2025, and his return has come with two major lineup changes for their clash against Kolkata Knight Riders at Chepauk.

🟡 CSK Key Changes

1. Rahul Tripathi replaces Ruturaj Gaikwad, who is unfortunately ruled out of the tournament due to a fractured elbow. Tripathi slots in at No.3, though he’s had a lean patch this season with only 30 runs in 3 matches.

2. Anshul Kamboj makes his CSK debut, replacing Mukesh Choudhary. Kamboj, a pacer who stunned domestic cricket with a 10-wicket haul in a Ranji Trophy innings, was bought by CSK for ₹3.4 crore. He made his IPL debut last season for MI and has been a player to watch.

Dhoni at the toss:

“Couple of changes for us - Tripathi comes in for Ruturaj, and Anshul Kamboj in for Mukesh.”

🟣 KKR Change

• KKR brought in Moeen Ali (former CSK all-rounder) in place of Spencer Johnson.

• KKR won the toss and elected to bowl first.

🏏 Playing XIs

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Quinton de Kock (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Moeen Ali, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy

Impact Subs: Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Rovman Powell, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy

Chennai Super Kings:

Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (c/wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed

Impact Subs: Matheesha Pathirana, Jamie Overton, Deepak Hooda, Shaik Rasheed, Kamlesh Nagarkoti