The stage was set in Chennai. It was time for the captains' photoshoot and when the first batch of photos dropped on social media, the realisation hit fans of the Indian Premier League.

For the first time since the inception of the IPL, there was no Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni or Rohit Sharma at the annual pre-cursor. An era had ended and Thursday, March 21 marked the start of a transition period in the popular leagues. Over the years, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been the faces of the IPL. The change of guard was inevitable, but a couple of the major changes seem to have come a season early, a season before the mega auction, which is slated for before the 2025 season. On Thursday, there was a bombshell announcement. MS Dhoni stepped down as the captain of the Chennai Super Kings and handed over the baton, again, this time to Ruturaj Gaikwad. The 27-year-old Maharashtra opener, who led India at the Asian Games, will lead CSK's title defence in IPL 2024. Shreyas Iyer, the skipper of the Knight Riders, is the most experienced captain in IPL 2024 with 55 caps. KL Rahul is not far behind with 51 caps after MS Dhoni, a man who led the Super Kings in 235 IPL matches, took a backseat. RUTU'RAJ' IN CHENNAI It will be a strange sight for the Super Kings fans to see MS Dhoni not walking out for the toss on Friday when they take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening match of the season. In fact, it will be former opening partners who will turn rivals on Friday as Ruturaj and Faf du Plessis will lead the two storied teams out to the field in front of a packed house at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk. While a lot has been said about Ruturaj Gaikwad taking over and how MS Dhoni hinted about the change in captaincy as early as last year, the young opener has huge shoes to fill. Having had a succession plan failed in 2022, it will be interesting to see how the Super Kings go about their business in 2024. HARDIK'S BIG TEST OF CHARACTER In the West too, there have been wholesale changes. Before the Dhoni bombshell dominated the headlines, Hardik Pandya replacing Rohit Sharma took quite a few by surprise. Before the mini-auction in December, Mumbai Indians made the bold move of taking captaincy away from the league's most successful skipper, Rohit, and handing it over to Hardik, who returned home in a sensational piece of trade from Gujarat Titans. Yes, Mumbai Indians faced flak, from their own fans, as quite a few of them felt it was 'disrespectful' to not give Rohit Sharma another season as captain, especially after his heroics in the ODI World Cup at home last year. However, known as a team that prioritises forward-thinking, Mumbai Indians handed over the reins to Hardik Pandya, who proved his mettle as the captain of Gujarat Titans in 2022 and 2023. However, the all-rounder from Baroda faces a stern test of character ahead of the new season as he will have to manage superstars in the star-studded Mumbai camp. GUJARAT HAS A NEW BOSS With Hardik leaving the Titans, a young Shubman Gill has been handed over the reins of Gujarat Titans. While they had the likes of experienced national team captains in Kane Williamson and Rashid Khan, Gujarat entrusted Gill with the responsibility of leading a side that has carved a rich legacy in just two years of existence. Gill's recent form in the Test series against England will hold him in good stead and with a terrific support group, which includes head coach Ashish Nehra and Director of Cricket Vikram Solanki, the young opener will be looking forward to a fruitful chapter as the captain of the 2022 champions.

MIRACLE MAN PANT IS BACK!

Another major talking point in the lead-up to IPL 2024 has been Rishabh Pant's comeback. In an inspiring route back to peak fitness, Pant overcame a life-threatening car crash to make an earlier-than-expected return to action. Rishabh Pant has been cleared fit to keep wickets and Delhi Capitals have handed over the baton to their star wicketkeeper-batter, who will be keen on enjoying the thrill of competitive action again. It will be unfair to expect Rishabh Pant to return to peak form straightaway. But, don't be surprised if he does, because he is Rishabh Pant.

GAMBHIR'S HOMECOMING

In the East, Shreyas Iyer returns to lead the Kolkata Knight Riders after having missed out on IPL 2023 due to an injury. All eyes will be on the skipper as he arrives for the IPL season with a point to prove after having lost his central contract. There is no better mentor for Iyer and the Knight Riders as Gautam Gambhir returns home to join hands with the franchise that he moulded into a winning machine. Gambhir's win-at-all-cost mentality is necessary for the Knight Riders, who seem to have forgotten the killer instincts with which they played their cricket between 2011 and 2014 under their influential leader.

LANGER IN LUCKNOW

Meanwhile, Lucknow Super Giants have made the prized signing of Justin Langer, a coach who loves winning. The former Australian opener, who has a proud record at the domestic as well as at the international level, has been brought in a season before the mega auction. If early signs are anything to go by, Langer's appointment is a long-term vision from the Sanjiv Goenka-owned franchise, who will have their skipper KL Rahul back in action.

WILL THE SUN RISE THIS YEAR?

SunRisers Hyderabad, meanwhile, have banked on Pat Cummins's Midas touch to lead them out of a slump. Once a consistent franchise, the SunRisers seem to have fallen behind in the last two seasons. Hence, they opted for a reboot and appointed World Cup-winning Cummins as their captain. Dropping Aiden Markram, the man who has won back-to-back titles with SunRisers Eastern Cape in SA20, from the hot seat seems to be a tough call. But SunRisers need inspiration from somewhere and they are hoping it comes from Cummins, who seems to know how to turn up at the biggest stages and get the job done. Fasten your seatbelt. Hop on to the hype train. IPL 2024 is here and the new season promises to be fun and exciting.