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Amid the rumours of his retirement from IPL after the ongoing season, MS Dhoni broke his silence about his future ahead of the CSK's opening match against MI in Chennai..
Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni made a massive claim on his IPL future ahead of the IPL 2025 clash against Mumbai Indians at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, March 23.
MS Dhoni will play his 18th IPL season and 16th for Chennai Super Kings. The veteran Indian wicketkeeper is one of a few players who have been playing Indian Premier League since the inaugural season of the tournament in 2008. Dhoni was retained by CSK as an uncapped player for INR 4 crore, given that he has retired from international cricket for more than five years. As per the BCCI new rule, the players who have retired from international cricket for five years or more will be categorized as an ‘uncapped’ player.
Despite being retained by the CSK franchise, there were talks and speculations about the possibility of MS Dhoni’s final season of his IPL career. However, the CSK stalwart put the speculations to rest by clearing the air around his IPL future.
Speaking to Jio Hotstar on the eve of ‘El Clasico’ clash, MS Dhoni vowed to play as long as he wanted to for Chennai Super Kings, adding that the team will drag him to the ground even if he is on a wheelchair.
“I can play for as long as I want for CSK. That's my franchise. Even if I'm in a wheelchair, they'll drag me." Dhoni said.
MS Dhoni said "I can play for as long as I want for CSK - That is my franchise. Even if I am in a wheelchair, they will drag me". [Big smile - JioHotstar] pic.twitter.com/8CaDdRAS9p
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns)
After Chennai Super Kings were knocked out of the tournament in the last IPL season, many thought that MS Dhoni had played his last season of the tournament. His retention by the CSK confirmed that that Dhoni would play another IPL season. Dhoni played all the matches despite battling knee injury and underwent surgery at the end of the season. MS Dhoni aggregated 161 runs at an average of 53.67 in 14 matches last year.
Ahead of the IPL 2025 clash against Mumbai Indians, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming lavished praise on Dhoni’s fitness, stating that he is fitter than last year. He is also a CSK stalwart for his drive and willingness to win the games for the team.
“Benjamin Button of cricket! He's getting younger. He's done everything well. He is probably fitter than last year, just given his comeback from a knee surgery.” Fleming said.
“Yeah he is 43, which we have to respect but there's ways in which we can use him which we think is very beneficial to us winning games. There's no doubt he has still got the talent and he's got the drive, which are two of the main things." he added.
Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Shaik Rasheed, Vansh Bedi (wk), C Andre Siddharth, Rachin Ravindra, Ravichandran Ashwin, Vijay Shankar, Sam Curran, Anshul Kamboj, Deepak Hooda, Jamie Overton, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Matheesha Pathirana.
Also read: IPL 2025: Shardul Thakur set to join LSG camp as replacement for injured Mohsin Khan
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