MS Dhoni of Chennai Superkings during match 13 of the Indian Premier League season 17 (IPL 2024) between Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings held at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam on the 31st March 2024. (Sportzpics)
MS Dhoni gave no hint of retirement to his franchise after Sunday’s game at Chinnaswamy Stadium where Chennai Super Kings lost their last league to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final over. While there have been speculations about Dhoni’s future, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan said that “there hasn’t been any discussions” on the issue.
“There were no discussions in the dressing room about it. We have never asked him about his future and neither has he said anything about it. When he takes a decision, he will inform us, until then we will not interfere,” Viswanathan told The Indian Express. Meanwhile, it is learnt that a day after CSK failed to make it to the play-offs, Dhoni left for Ranchi and it is understood that he would be travelling overseas.
After undergoing knee surgery in May 2023, Dhoni went on to play all 14 games this season, scoring 161 runs at a strike rate of 220.55, which included 13 sixes. Head coach Stephen Fleming and batting coach Mike Hussey continued to maintain that Dhoni’s ability to hit the ball long and hard still remains the same and there aren’t any issues with his fitness.
It is learnt that Dhoni’s decision to quit or continue depends on the players’ retention rule that BCCI will be deciding on before next season’s big auction. Ahead of the 2022 player auctions, when CSK retained four players, Dhoni moved from the top pay bracket to second, and now gets Rs 12 crore, with Ravindra Jadeja being the highest at Rs 16. With a whole team set to be built, whether Dhoni continues to play and take up a major chunk of the auction purse remains to be seen. Since the World Cup-winning captain adds a lot of weight to CSK’s brand, the franchise will have to take a tough call.
On the eve of this year’s IPL, Dhoni stepped aside as the captain of CSK, handing over the reins to Ruturaj Gaikwad. At that time, Fleming said that Dhoni took the call so that he could groom him into the role. But going forward, his future as a player will fully depend on his fitness. Having suffered a strain, Dhoni had to limit his movements and was also not able to decelerate easily while running between the wickets. With even quick turnarounds deemed risky while running, Dhoni limited his role as a finisher to just the last couple of overs, unless forced.
Speaking on Star Sports, former CSK player Ambati Rayudu believed this isn’t Dhoni’s last. “I don’t think this is his last game. I just don’t see him wanting to end on this note. He looked a little frustrated, even when he got out. That’s very unlike MS Dhoni, he just wanted to qualify and finish on a high. But you never know with MS Dhoni, he might come back next year,” he said.
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