The Indian Premier League is knocking at our doors and all eyes are on MS Dhoni. The Chennai Super Kings skipper has been a mainstay of the tournament since its inception in 2008. However, there has been some speculation that this year’s tournament may be ‘Thala’ Dhoni’s last one. Shutting down any rumours about the former India skipper’s retirement from the IPL, Dhoni’s teammate Deepak Chahar corrected a reporter who claimed that this edition was the former India captain’s last competition.
Chahar was speaking to News India Sports when the anchor asked him about ‘Thala’ Dhoni and his performance in the nets. “MS Dhoni will play his last IPL. You saw him practice. How is his batting going on?” the journalist asked. Dhoni and his team have been practicing at the home ground, Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium, for the past few days.
Deepak Chahar was quick to reply that he hopes that MS Dhoni would continue to lead the side for as long as possible. “No one has said that this would be his final IPL. At least, he hasn’t. Hopefully, he will play more. We don’t know any such thing, we want him to play as much as he can,” the CSK pacer said.
Whistle Parakkum Paaru… 🥳#SummerOf2023 🔜#WhistlePodu #Yellove 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/YB85bzbBkP
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) March 17, 2023
The right-arm quick went on to add, “He (MS Dhoni) knows when to retire; we saw it when he stepped back from Tests and international cricket. No one else knows. I just hope he continues to play, it’s a privilege to play under him. It has been a dream to play with him. He’s in good touch as well, you will see that when he bats in the IPL this year.”
Last year, Dhoni had stepped down as the captain of the Chennai-based franchise, appointing Ravindra Jadeja in his place. However, the change did not go over well as Chennai continued to perform below par in the cash-rich league. Dhoni once again took over as the captain midway through IPL 2022 but was unable to work any miracles. The four-time IPL winners ended in ninth place on the point table, winning only 4 out of their 14 fixtures.
With regards to IPL 2023, Dhoni had earlier stated that he was “definitely” going to play in the competition. “It’s a simple reason: it will be unfair to not play in Chennai and say thank you [to the fans],” the former India wicket-keeper said about his participation.
The IPL is set to begin on 31 March, with CSK taking on last year’s winners Gujarat Titans at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi stadium.
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