IPL 2025: MS Dhoni's CSK retention all but confirmed, Impact Player rule to stay

The legendary India National Cricket Team and Chennai Super Kings wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni is highly likely to be seen in action in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has brought back an old rule, which will help CSK retain the legendary skipper for a less amount.

MS Dhoni is one of the greatest players ever in the history of the Indian Premier League. He was roped in by Chennai Super Kings in 2008 and has done a remarkable job for the team.

MS Dhoni Likely To Be Retained As Uncapped Player Rule Brought Back

CSK's Thala has led the franchise to 10 IPL finals in the first 14 seasons and won 5 championships in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, and 2023. With the bat, his contributions have been magnificent as he has scored 5243 runs in 264 matches at an average of 39.12 and a strike rate of 137.53.

MS Dhoni stepped down as skipper of Chennai Super Kings and handed over the leadership to Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of Indian Premier League 2024, who did a good job as captain but failed to lead the teams to playoffs, losing a crucial match against RCB in the league stage.

Meanwhile, MS Dhoni has the opportunity to play one more season in IPL as the Chennai Super Kings have been allowed to retain him as an uncapped player, as per ESPNcricinfo.

According to the report, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has decided to bring back, which allows the franchises to retain the players who have retired from international cricket for at least years as uncapped players.

This rule was in place since the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) but was scrapped in 2021 as no team used it. After a discussion with the franchises, the decision was made by the governing body to revive this rule. Notably, earlier a few reports had claimed that some franchise owners including SRH owner Kavya Maran were against the idea of this being reintroduced.

Notably, MS Dhoni was the second retention of the franchise ahead of the Indian Premier League 2022 mega auction. He was retained after Ravindra Jadeja for INR 12 Crore. However, with the uncapped player rule coming back for retired players, CSK will have to pay Dhoni only INR 4 crore, if they retain him.

Impact Player Rule Set To Stay In IPL 2024

In another development as per ESPNcricinfo, the Impact Player rule has been given a green light and it will continue to stay in the Indian Premier League 2025.

The Impact Player rule that was introduced in 2023 to make the league more competitive has been a hot topic of discussion among fans and experts.

Many have opined that the rule reduces the role of all-rounders and hurts their development while others claim that it has made the matches more thrilling and competitive.

At the meeting between the BCCI officials and the IPL franchise owners, most of the people were in favor of this rule to continue. Notably, the impact player rule has had a significant impact on the scores in the Indian Premier League as nine of the ten highest totals in IPL history have been recorded since its introduction.

In a historic move to celebrate consistency and champion outstanding performances in the #IPL, we are thrilled to introduce a match fee of INR 7.5 lakhs per game for our cricketers! A cricketer playing all league matches in a season will get Rs. 1.05 crores in addition to his…

— Jay Shah (@JayShah) September 28, 2024