Mumbai, March 24 : India’s star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will be leading the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Thursday decided to step down as CSK skipper. Jadeja, who has been an integral part of CSK since 2012, will only be the third player to lead the CSK after Dhoni and Suresh Raina. “Dhoni has decided to hand over the leadership of Chennai Super Kings and picked Jadeja to lead the team. Dhoni will continue to represent CSK this season and beyond,” the franchise said in a statement on Thursday. Dhoni had led CSK in 204 matches since 2008. He won 121 matches, lost 82 and one match was ended in a tie. Under Dhoni’s leaderships, CSK won IPL in 2010, 2011, 2018 and 2021. CSK also emerged victorious in the erstwhile Champions League T20 tournament in 2010 and 2014 under the charismatic leader’s captaincy. Owing to Dhoni’s leadership, CSK holds the records of most appearances in the playoffs and the final of the cash-rich league. The franchise has reached the final on nine occasions and have made it to 11 playoffs in 12 seasons. Earlier in the day, former India captain S l Gavaskar opined Jadeja is ready to take over the mantle from MS Dhoni, if the team management decides to give the senior statesman a break during the event. “The way Jadeja has matured as a player over the last few years, the way he is making the adjustment as far as his game is concerned and the way he reads match situations has been absolutely fantastic. If in the odd game MS Dhoni decides to take a break, I won’t be surprised if the mantle of captaincy will be handed over to Jadeja.” Gavaskar said in a Gameplan episode aired on Star Sports, the official broadcaster of the IPL. The four-time champion CSK will begin their IPL campaign on March 26 against two-time Kolkata Knight Riders at Wankhede Stadium in at Mumbai. BAV GK