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The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is one of the most successful franchises in the history of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL), and their most successful captain remains MS Dhoni. There have been talks that Dhoni wanted to buy some stakes in the franchise, and CSK rejected it. Now it has been reported that the former captain owns some shares.
Chennai Super Kings recently sacked their head coach Stephen Fleming after 19 years. He was the oldest serving head coach across any franchise. The Men in Yellow sacked him after their poor performances in recent times in the IPL; in the last few seasons, they have failed to qualify for the playoffs. Ruturaj Gaikwad, the captain, has also failed to impress.
MS Dhoni owns shares in CSK
Amidst this, reports from Cricbuzz suggest that MS Dhoni had showcased his interest in buying stakes in the franchise, but the franchise rejected it. According to recent reports, a senior CSK official has denied that the matter was ever discussed. It is believed that Dhoni never approached the management about buying shares, nor is there any information about him discussing it with N Srinivasan.
Reports stated that, “Dhoni had expressed an interest in buying a stake in CSK, but the management did not agree to the terms proposed by their former captain.”
“MS has never asked us about it. We never discussed the matter. We also don’t have any information about him having discussed this with Mr N Srinivasan either,” said the senior CSK official.
How much share does MS Dhoni own at CSK?
But as per the recent reports from Cricbuzz, it is revealed that Dhoni does own more than one lakh CSK shares, which he bought privately. There are more than 30 crore shares that are owned by the public, which makes it 40% of the franchise, so compared to Dhoni, he owns a very small amount of shares in the franchise.
Apart from that, N Srinivasan and his family hold more than 55% of CSK, giving them control and ownership of the franchise. As per reports, Dhoni’s shares could be worth around INR 2.6–3 crore, given the current valuation of a franchise, which is nearly around INR 16,000 crore.
MS Dhoni to decide on CSK's next head coach
The former captain, despite not featuring in a single game in the last season, remains the most influential person in the team, and the franchise is also waiting for his final call to decide on the next course of action, particularly in the matter of finalising the new head coach.
Now, as per Cricbuzz, MS Dhoni is set to return from the US this month and meet the CSK management to take a call on the next head coach. Sources say that the management has shortlisted an overseas candidate. However, the unnamed candidate is also believed to be in talks with another franchise.
Last season, Chennai finished 8th in the points table, and they would like to change the course of things in the forthcoming season, as the five-time winners failed to qualify for the playoffs after Dhoni stepped down from the captaincy role.
