New Delhi: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) stalwart MS Dhoni gears up for yet another adventure with the franchise, which begins its campaign in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Sunday. In the season opener, the five-time IPL champions take on another five-time IPL triumphant Mumbai Indians (MI). Just like the last few seasons have gone by, even this year, Dhoni’s IPL future topic has been on the lips of the fans.
It should come as a sheer joy to the CSK fans and to the hardcore IPL fans as well that Dhoni recently broke his silence on whether he would be continuing in the cash-rich league. The wicketkeeper-batter said 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 during a chat on JioHotstar ahead of the El Clasico with Mumbai Indians.
MS Dhoni said “I can play for as long as I want for CSK – That is my franchise. Even if I am in a wheelchair, they will drag me”. [Big smile – JioHotstar] pic.twitter.com/8CaDdRAS9p
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 23, 2025
Gaikwad on Dhoni’s role and future
Even at the ripe age of 43, Dhoni is still contributing to CSK which has been an inspiration to many youngsters in the franchise and the opponent teams as well. Dhoni has defied all the odds to be still able to play, switching his role to that of a finisher with muscle-power hitting. Using “age is just a number” for him would be a shame now, as he has crossed all the limitations of the age factor.
CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad is hopeful of Dhoni contributing and delivering “crucial knocks” for his team. In an interaction with the media on the eve of their opening match against MI, Gaikwad called Dhoni an inspiration and said, “So, I think nothing much really changes and hopefully he will continue to deliver those crucial knocks for us.”
The skipper further said that Dhoni keeps his focus on “trying to hit as many sixes as possible and trying to get the right swing, as he has a role that is very limited now. Dhoni is expected to come down to bat at no.7 or no. 8 this season as well.
“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 (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),” Gaikwad noted for his senior.
MS Dhoni has always returned in the next IPL season whenever someone considered the ongoing season to be his last. Is he planning something similar this year as well? Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
