With high anticipation of MS Dhoni’s future as a player, the former captain has hinted that he will play in the IPL 2025 as CSK looks to retain him as an uncapped player.
An unofficial statement from Dhoni confirmed his desire to play in the next edition of the IPL before the meeting with Chennai Super Kings management.
While speaking at an event in Goa, he explained the importance of keeping himself fit for nine months of the year when he is not on the field.
“I just want to enjoy whatever last few years of cricket I am able to play. When you play cricket like a professional sport, it becomes difficult to enjoy it just like a game. That’s what I want to do. It’s not easy.
“The emotions keep coming, the commitments are there. I want to enjoy the game for the next few years. I have to keep myself fit for nine months so that I can play two and a half months of IPL. You need to plan it out, but at the same time chill a bit.”
After MS Dhoni’s statement, CSK CEO Kasi Vishwanathan said, “When he is ready, what else (do) we want? We are happy.”
“We will be having a meeting soon with him and then we will have a clear picture about our retentions,” he added.
Last month, the IPL governing council announced the IPL 2025 mega auction rules and regulations where they brought in a rule which was scrapped in 2021.
According to the rule, a capped Indian player will become uncapped if he has not played any international matches in the last five calendar years and has not been involved in the BCCI’s contract.
Since Dhoni’s last game for India comes from the 2019 World Cup, he will be one of the international players who can be retained as an uncapped player.
Meanwhile, Apart from Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Matheesha Pathirana are in rumoured CSK’s Retention players list. With BCCI announcing October 31 as the deadline for franchises to announce their retained players list, it will be interesting which players will be coming into the auction pool.
Though this year’s auction was planned to be hosted outside India, fans can still enjoy the IPL 2025 auction live streaming from their home.
