Ruturaj Gaikwad has revealed how he was shadow captaining Chennai Super Kings (CSK) right through the title winning campaign in 2023, a year after MS Dhoni told him to be ready for the role. And having taken the hot seat, Gaikwad said he wants “keep the CSK culture intact” as it has given them five titles, including three in the last six years. Speaking to the media for the first time since taking over as captain after CSK’s seven-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders, Gaikwad said he wants to be himself in the role and not try to fill in the giant shoes of Dhoni. “I remember in 2022 was when he told me that, ‘you know, probably not next year but after that you might get a chance to lead, so be ready for it’. So obviously after that, I was always preparing for it. It (the captaincy) didn’t come as news to me or was I bit surprised or shocked,” Gaikwad who scored an unbeaten 67 in CSK’s win on Monday said. Gaikwad then elaborated the circumstances in which Dhoni broke the news to him ahead of this season. “To be honest, it was not really a deep conversation. When it was discussed, it was in a very chilled state… the one-on-one conversation stayed very chill. We were practicing and he came and told all that stuff (about me taking over). I feel obviously for every one outside, it would feel like those are big shoes to fill. But I would like to be myself and continue the culture, which has been going,” Gaikwad said. Last IPL season, head coach Fleming, who himself was an astute captain during his playing career, groomed him for the role by having regular conversations. “Last year, Fleming and I always used to discuss about the captain’s thing. After every game we spoke about how I felt, what bowling change I felt we needed to do and what was the thinking behind it. So, yeah, every game we had had one-on-one conversations. That was just really building it up for me,” Gaikwad said. CSK’s strength over the years has been continuity. Apart from retaining the core group, developing a relaxed atmosphere, empowering players and giving the sort of freedom which unheard of in other IPL teams has been their hallmark. It has seen players discarded by other franchises thrive at CSK and Gaikwad said, as a captain he would focus on continuing the same culture that helped him develop. “Captaincy wise, I feel I don’t want to be a specific kind of character. Just like to flow things as they are flowing. Keep the culture of CSK basically going. I feel the success we had, things we had been doing…I don’t want to change a single bit of it. I just want to come there, take my own decisions and give as much freedom as possible, because thats’ what has been happening since I started playing for CSK. So nothing really changes and I’m enjoying a lot,” Gaikwad said. That Gaikwad has prepared himself for the role is visible on the field, where he has taken complete ownership of the side. For a captain, who was addressing his first press conference, he didn’t come across as a rookie. And at the same time, also gave a glimpse into how he approaches a tournament like IPL, setting realistic goals and not far-fetched ones. “In a tournament like IPL, you are not going to win 14 out of 14 games, obviously there will be ups and downs. You are bound to lose four, five, six, seven games. So obviously you have to approach every game with same intensity. Sometimes opposition plays really good cricket. Sometimes toss matters. Sometimes, you know, we don’t capitalize on certain things so there are few things that you have to factor in. And this year I feel every team is slightly stronger. Plus, every team is stronger particularly at home,” Gaikwad said.