MS Dhoni among 5 players to be retained by CSK ahead of IPL 2025 mega auction

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are reportedly set to retain MS Dhoni ahead of the much-awaited IPL 2025 mega auction. The mega auction is set to take place in December this year.

According to reports, the event is likely to be held outside India. The last IPL auction had taken place in Dubai and the BCCI is reportedly keen on conducting the auction in the Middle East region once again. The likes of UAE and Saudi Arabia are reportedly interested in hosting the event.

While the auction is not very far away, the BCCI is yet to announce the retention rules. The BCCI was expected to make the announcement by the end of August but has delayed it. According to reports, the board is likely to announce the retention policy by the end of September,

A report in Cricbuzz has stated that the franchises may have time until November 15 to finalize their retention decisions. The auction will also feature the Right to Match (RTM) options too.

During the 2014 and 2018 mega auctions, the franchises were allowed to retain five players. In 2014, the franchises were allowed to retain a maximum of five players (at most four Indian-capped players). Later in 2018, the teams were allowed to retain five players but through a combination of retention and RTM cards.

Later in 2022, the teams were allowed to retain four players through two different combinations: three Indians and one overseas, or two Indians and two overseas.

MS Dhoni to be retained by Chennai Super Kings (CSK):

While the BCCI has not announced the retention policy yet, Chennai Super Kings are interested in retaining five players. RevSportz has reported that if BCCI allows the franchises to retain five players, MS Dhoni will be one of them.

The other four players will be captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, allrounders Ravindra Jadeja and Shivam Dube, and fast-bowler Matheesha Pathirana. Also, the report also stated that MS Dhoni will be in the lowest bid category if CSK do retain him.

🚨 As per reports if BCCI is reviving the retaining policy for IPL 2025, CSK will retain the following the players:

Ruturaj Gaikwad
Ravindra Jadeja
Shivam Dube
MS Dhoni
Matheesha Pathirana

NB: MS Dhoni will be in the lowest bid category as per mutual agreement.@shamik100… pic.twitter.com/27ap8xTOWW

— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) September 21, 2024

In 2024, Dhoni stepped down as the captain just before the start of the season and was replaced by Gaikwad. The new CSK captain did well with the bat but could not take his team to the playoffs.

Dhoni, on the other hand, played in all 14 games for CSK but faced only 73 deliveries. However, he did manage to make an impact in those 73 deliveries as he scored 161 runs with the help of 14 fours and 13 sixes.