“This Is My Franchise”: MS Dhoni Ends Chatter On IPL Retirement

Unarguably one of the greatest cricketers the game has seen, MS Dhoni gears up for another adventure in the Chennai Super Kings shirt as the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season begins for his franchise on Sunday. In the opening clash of the season, Dhoni takes on the other most decorated franchise in the game, Mumbai Indians. Just like any other season since his international retirement, the topic of Dhoni’s future in the IPL has on the fans’ lips since the schedule of the tournament was announced.

Ahead of CSK’s season-opening fixture against MI, Dhoni said that he could play for as long as he wanted.

“I can play for as long as I want for CSK. That’s my franchise. Even if I’m in a wheelchair, they’ll drag me,” he said in a chat on JioHotstar ahead of the clash against Mumbai Indians.

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Ruturaj Gaikwad Hails Remarkable MS Dhoni

CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad shared some intriguing insights into Dhoni’s “remarkable” ability to keep contributing for the team at the age of 43 and hoped he will deliver “crucial knocks” for his side in this IPL.

Dhoni, as was the case the last couple of seasons, is expected to bat at the lower-order for CSK, probably at the No. 7 or No. 8 spots. 

“A lot of new players have joined the team and sometimes they struggle to strike the ball as good as he is striking it right now. So, definitely it inspires a lot of us including myself,” Gaikwad told the media on the eve of CSK’s opening IPL match against arch-rivals Mumbai Indians. “So, whatever he is doing at the age of 43, I think it is remarkable. We have certain strengths that we have been following since the last two years. So, I think nothing much really changes and hopefully he will continue to deliver those crucial knocks for us,” he added.

Gaikwad also highlighted Dhoni’s special approach in the nets ahead of CSK’s season-opener.

“I think his training is very much limited to whatever he tries to achieve or whatever his role would be in the IPL. So, it is pretty much very simple, focused on trying to hit as many as sixes as possible and trying to get the right swing, trying to be in the best shape.

“That is what I think initially he was trying to do and then I never thought he was out of shape. If you see now, even Sachin Tendulkar is batting (in the Master’s league) as great as he is right now at the age of 50. So, I think there are still many years to go (for Dhoni),” he noted.