CSK and Dhoni, a bond unaffected by time

Runs in the IPL have dried up but at 40, Dhoni still isn't done yet.

"You can be so proud of the legacy you’ve left behind for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and they can build on it,” commentator Harsha Bhogle told CSK’s winning captain MS Dhoni at the presentation ceremony of the Indian Premier League (IPL) final last year before signing off.

MS Dhoni with the IPL trophy

It was said in due appreciation of Dhoni’s towering contribution to the CSK franchise with maybe the assumption that this was it for the wicketkeeper-batter. Or perhaps, it was also a subtle attempt at coaxing a response from the man on his playing future. “But still I haven’t left it behind,” promptly replied Dhoni, grinning ear-to-ear.

It told us in no uncertain terms that Dhoni didn’t think he was done yet. He is 40 years old and scored only 114 runs in 11 innings last year at an average of 16.28 with a strike rate of 106.54. Underwhelming numbers by anyone’s standards, but CSK don’t seem to think he’s done either. A month after the final, they retained Dhoni for ₹12 crore as the second choice behind all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja ( ₹16 crore), Ruturaj Gaikwad and Moeen Ali being the third and fourth retentions.

It was a show of faith that symbolises the unique relationship between Dhoni and CSK, one that CSK owner N Srinivasan summed up a few days after the 2021 IPL ended. “Dhoni is part and parcel of CSK, Chennai and Tamil Nadu. There is no CSK without Dhoni and there is no Dhoni without CSK,” Srinivasan was quoted as saying by PTI.

Much like Sachin Tendulkar at Mumbai Indians, there’s little doubt that Dhoni’s association with CSK will continue in an off-field capacity once he retires. But did he need to push himself by playing another season? Wasn’t winning the IPL trophy the perfect ending to a storied career?

He couldn’t get that perfect ending with India after all, agonisingly run out for 50 in the penultimate over of the ODI World Cup semi-final defeat to New Zealand in July 2019. Since announcing his limited-overs retirement in August 2020 (he retired from Tests in 2014)—13 months after that World Cup exit—Dhoni’s had no cricket in between the two IPL seasons to lean on. It hasn’t corroded his efficiency with the gloves behind the stumps, but the absence of regular game time has taken a definite toll on his batting by his own admission. While marginally better than 2021, he only managed 200 runs in 14 games at an average of 25 and strike rate of 116.27 in 2020 too. Across the last two seasons, his combined boundary count stands at 28 fours and 10 sixes.

It suggests that the upcoming season will only get more challenging. While a slowing of the reflexes can lead to complications against genuine pace, the spinners interestingly had a greater stranglehold on Dhoni in 2021. Out of 43 balls that he faced against spin in the season, he only scored 31 runs while being dismissed twice. He was dismissed five times by pacers but was still striking at close to 130 against them.

He has notably struggled to read Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) spinner Varun Chakravarthy from the hand, which explains why he’s been bowled by the Tamil Nadu mystery spinner as many as three times in 12 balls. It doesn’t do justice to Dhoni’s supreme ability against spin that has seen the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan come up second best in the past.

His knowhow in tight situations and ability to soak up pressure, of course, mean that he’s still capable of a flourish at the finish. Dhoni turned the clock back once in the first Qualifier last season, when needing 13 runs in the final over against Delhi Capitals, he plundered England’s Tom Curran for three successive boundaries to take his side to the final. In the penultimate over, he also hit one right out of the screws to clear the midwicket boundary against the pace of the ever-improving Avesh Khan. Will the odd cameo suffice though?

Understandably, CSK have implicit trust that Dhoni will pull the team through once again. “We have no concerns about MS. He is such a senior player that we don’t have to worry at all. He knows how to manage his team, how to manage himself and how to manage his cricket. Everything he knows. So we don’t have to speak to him at all,” CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan said.

Even if he is unable to find his range with the bat, there is comfort in knowing that Dhoni doesn’t let it affect his captaincy and demeanour on the field. That, perhaps, is what CSK are essentially banking on as they head into another season with quite a few older players in their ranks.