‘His Last Game Will Be At Chepauk’: CSK Official Hints MS Dhoni Not Leaving
Published - 09 Oct 2021, 12:29 AM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 07:51 PM
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) officials are pretty confident that the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) will not be the last of MS Dhoni in the yellow jersey. The management is almost sure that the cricketer will play atleast one more IPL season in 2022 which is expected to be played in India and say goodbye in front of ‘home’ fans at Chepauk in Chennai.
This is due to the mixed signals the former India captain has been giving the fans and media about his future with the Chennai Super Kings, who had bought him for $1.5 million making him the most expensive player sold in the inaugural IPL auction in 2008. Dhoni has captained CSK to three IPL titles with two of those wins coming back to back in 2010 and 2011 and the most recent one coming in 2018 when the franchise returned from a two-year suspension.
Think He Would Like To Play His Last Game At Chepauk: CSK Official On MS Dhoni’s Future In IPL
On Tuesday, at an India Cements function, Dhoni dropped a hint that he would continue to lead CSK next season as well.
When asked by a fan, he had said: “When it comes to the farewell, you can come and see me play for CSK and that can be my farewell game. So you will get the opportunity to bid me farewell. Hopefully, we will come to Chennai and play my last game over there and (I) can meet all the fans.”
On Thursday during the toss of CSK v PBKS match, Dhoni on being asked by Danny Morrison about his future, said, “You will see me in yellow next season but whether I will be playing for CSK you never know. There are a lot of uncertainties coming up; two new teams are coming… We don’t know what the retention rules are and so on.”
The IPL 2022 is going to be bigger and better as two new teams will be added to the mix and a mega auction will be held with the majority of players being thrown into the pool to bring some freshness to the team combinations.
A CSK insider, when asked by the Indian Express if this IPL could be Dhoni’s last as a cricketer, said: “I don’t think so. Think he would like to play his last game at Chepauk, which is very likely.”
Dhoni retired from international cricket on August 15, 2020, and he has been a shadow of his past with the bat in IPL 2021 96 runs from 14 matches at 13.71, with a strike rate of 95.04. But he has led CSK into the playoffs and ensured a top-two finish.
