MS Dhoni unlikely to retire after IPL 2025 as CSK management considers him crucial for transition: Report
MS Dhoni is currently leading the Chennai Super Kings in the absence of Ruturaj Gaikwad, who is currently out with an elbow injury.
Chennai Super Kings' final matches of IPL 2025 may not mark the end of MS Dhoni’s storied career. While fans across the country have been preparing emotionally for a potential goodbye, the CSK camp is reportedly operating under a very different assumption: that Dhoni might still return next season.
According to a report in The Times of India, the 43-year-old has not communicated any plans to step away at the end of the current campaign. Dhoni told the Super Kings that he would make a decision a few months later, but CSK feels there are too many loose ends to deal with in the team for Dhoni to go at this stage.
CSK, currently reeling at the bottom of the table, have looked far removed from the side that lifted the IPL title for the fifth time in 2023. While criticism about Dhoni’s utility has grown louder from outside the team, the management still sees immense value in his presence. As a lower middle-order batter, wicketkeeper and, most crucially, a mentor, Dhoni continues to be a steadying figure in a transition phase.
CSK believe the side has a young core that needs to settle down, and Dhoni's presence remains crucial for the Super Kings to reach close to their 2023 level.
Dhoni's fitness
Another positive sign has been Dhoni’s fitness. After struggling with knee issues in the past couple of seasons, the former India captain’s body has held up better than in the last couple of years, according to those tracking him closely. Dhoni has kept wickets in all of CSK's matches this season, and has, on multiple occasions, also batted at no.6 for the side in crunch situations.
However, the captaincy baton will justifiably stay with Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has led CSK in parts over the past two seasons. Gaikwad was ruled out mid-way through the ongoing season with MS Dhoni taking over as captain, but the CSK batter will return as skipper next season.
While results under Gaikwad haven’t been ideal, the team is backing him.
