Things look well settled for CSK and, more importantly, for MS Dhoni’s fans. For the past few months, there has been talk about MS Dhoni’s IPL career, with question about whether he would play in the upcoming IPL 2025 or not. Now, confirmation has come that is enough to make Chennai Super Kings and MS Dhoni fans happy.
However, there is still time to see the retention lists of every franchise, as October 31 has been set as the deadline for IPL teams to announce their retained players. Speaking more about Dhoni, CSK CEO Kashi Vishwanathan said, “When he is ready, what else do we want? We are happy.” Interestingly, not long ago, CSK’s top boss was uncertain about whether MS would make himself available for the next season or not. However, receiving confirmation from MS Dhoni himself that he wants to play in the upcoming season has come as a significant boost for the camp.
CEO Kasi Viswanathan told Cricbuzz that Dhoni wanted to enjoy the last few years of his cricket. If we look at this scenario fully, it has already been speculated that MS will play in IPL 2025, especially with the uncapped player rule coming into the picture. Since then, MS’s participation in the IPL has become a reality. Now, with the CSK top boss confirming, it is almost certain that we will see the former CSK captain hitting sixes in the yellow jersey once again.
What is the uncapped player rule in IPL?
It is important to mention that a few months ago, when IPL franchises met with the BCCI, it was reported that CSK CEO Kashi Vishwanathan requested the BCCI to look into the uncapped player rule, which was last used in 2021. This rule is now set to be reinstated, and through this route, MS Dhoni is expected to return to CSK.
The rule states that international players who haven’t played at the international stage in the past five years and are not under a central contract can be classified as uncapped players. Now, CSK could benefit from this to bring Dhoni back onto the retention charts.
CSK probable retention
Retention No. | Player Name |
1 | Ruturaj Gaikwad |
2 | Matheesha Pathirana |
3 | Rachin Ravindra |
4 | Ravindra Jadeja |
5 (uncapped) | MS Dhoni |