IPL 2021: Shane Watson believes Dhoni will return to CSK as mentor – MS Dhoni’s future is up for huge debate after the Chennai Super Kings captain made a sensational U-turn on his hopes of playing a final game in front of Chepauk. The former Indian captain pointed at the possibility of IPL 2021 being his last as a player, especially with the mega auctions around the corner. Dhoni’s former CSK teammate believes that while Captain Cool will return to the CSK dugout next season, it is unlikely he will do so as a player.
IPL 2021: Shane Watson reckons MS Dhoni will return next year as mentor after U-turn on Chepauk farewell
MS Dhoni retirement – Ahead of the game against Punjab Kings, MS Dhoni there doubts over his future as a player with CSK, especially with the mega actions and the two new teams coming into the picture. Dhoni said, “Well, you can see me in yellow, but whether I’ll be playing for CSK there are a lot of uncertainties around it for a simple reason that we have two new teams coming up. We don’t know the retention policy.”
He added, “We don’t know how many foreigners, Indian players we can retain, the money cap that every player will be cutting from the kitty. So, there are a lot of uncertainties. Unless the rules are in place you can’t really decide that. We will wait for it to happen and hopefully it will be good for everyone.”
IPL 2021: Shane Watson reckons MS Dhoni will return next year as mentor after U-turn on Chepauk farewell
MS Dhoni retirement – Shane Watson, who played under Dhoni’s captaincy in CSK and won the IPL title in 2018, said that the former captain’s response itself hinted that he would be moving on from his playing career. The former Australian all-rounder, speaking on Star Sports said, “Hearing that answer from MS to me was very different to the answer he gave last year where he was very confident that yes, he will be definitely be back.”
Watson added, “Hearing him sort of talk about things such as let us see what happens at the auction and all the different sorts of permutations with two new teams coming in, that for me more so suggests that he will be in yellow still but potentially not as a player and more as a mentor, which still is a huge role in the franchise.”
IPL 2021: Shane Watson reckons MS Dhoni will return next year as mentor after U-turn on Chepauk farewell
MS Dhoni retirement – Dhoni’s comments shocked the cricketing fraternity as the CSK captain had just days earlier reaffirmed his commitment to the franchise and suggested at carrying on playing in IPL 2022. MS Dhoni during India Cements’ 75th-anniversary virtual event said fans will be seeing him return in Chennai Super Kings jersey in IPL 2022 when the marquee event makes a comeback to India and he will hope to ‘play his farewell match in Chepauk.’
“There cannot be a better day than that (announcement of his retirement from international cricket on August 15). When it comes to farewell, you can always come and see me play for CSK and that can be my farewell game. You will still get an opportunity to bid me farewell so hopefully, you will come to Chennai, I will play my last game there and I can meet all the fans,” said Dhoni.
