"Whatever He's Doing, He'll Call First And Inform Only Mr N Srinivasan, Not Anyone Else" - CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan On MS Dhoni’s Future

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) CEO Kasi Viswanathan lauded skipper MS Dhoni for his commitment to the team despite struggling with a knee injury throughout the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. Kasi Viswanathan revealed that MS Dhoni never complained about his knee injury to anyone.

MS Dhoni guided the Chennai Super Kings to their fifth title in the history of the tournament despite nursing a knee injury. The former Indian skipper underwent surgery for his knee in Mumbai earlier this month. The 41-year-old scored 104 runs in the IPL 2023 at an impressive strike rate of 182.46.

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He Never Complained Even Once – Kasi Viswanathan

In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Kasi Viswanathan stated that Dhoni is now recovering from surgery and is pleased with his progress.

“We never asked him things like ‘Do you want to play or do you want to sit out.’ If he can’t, he would’ve told us straight away. We knew it was a struggle for him to play, but his commitment to the team, his leadership and how the team benefits everyone knows. From that perspective, you have to appreciate him,” Kasi Viswanathan told ESPNcricinfo.

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“Till the final, he never complained about his knee to anybody. Though everyone knew, and you would’ve seen him struggling while running, he never complained even once. After the final, he said, ‘Okay, I’ll have a surgery.’ He’s finished his surgery, he’s quite happy, he’s recovering,” he added.

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Viswanathan stated that Dhoni will begin his recovery three weeks after surgery and that the CSK will not be back in action until next year. The CSK CEO stated that Dhoni will decide on his IPL future after January next year.

“Actually, he told us immediately after the final is over he’ll fly to Mumbai, have surgery and go back to Ranchi for rehab. In Mumbai, after Ruturaj’s wedding [on June 4], I visited him. It was a courtesy call. He’s quite comfortable. He said he’ll rest for three weeks and then start his rehab. And like he said, he’s not going to play until January-February. We don’t need to remind him about all that,” he added.

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“He knows what to do, how to go about it, so we aren’t going to ask him ‘what are you going to do, how’ etc. He will inform us on his own. Whatever he’s doing, he’ll call first and inform only Mr N Srinivasan, not anyone else. Factually, he’ll be straightforward with him. From him, we’ll get the information that this is what he’s doing. It’s been this way since 2008. That’s how it will continue,” he continued.

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When asked about Dhoni’s words to him after the title victory, Viswanathan said that the CSK skipper praised Ravindra Jadeja’s performance in a nail-biting encounter.

“He said, ‘look, the fifth title has been delivered.’ It’s a big relief. He praised Jadeja for the effort and confidence he showed. It [Ahmedabad] was like a home ground for him [Jadeja]. It was very satisfying. Everyone knows how Dhoni has brought up Jadeja from 2012 at CSK. He has the satisfaction of seeing a home-grown boy deliver the title for CSK,” he concluded.

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