Chennai Super Kings and skipper MS Dhoni won their fifth Indian Premier League title after defeating defending champions Gujarat Titans by five wickets following an overs deduction with the DLS method. While Dhoni appeared to struggle in the IPL 2023 due to a knee injury, it is reported that the CSK skipper will get admitted to the Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai for a series of tests on his injury.
After winning their fifth IPL title, CSK equalised Mumbai Indians to become the joint most successful IPL team in the league's history. GT bagged both Orange Cap and Purple Cap awards as opener Shubman Gill won the Orange Cap with 890 runs in 17 matches while Mohammed Shami clinched the purple cap with 28 wickets.
During the IPL 2023, CSK skipper Dhoni was spotted wearing a kneecap as he struggled with a knee injury throughout the competition. Earlier in April, CSK coach Stephen Fleming confirmed that Thala has been "nursing a knee injury which is hindering him somewhat", however, the Kiwi commended Dhoni's professionalism in terms of fitness. According to a report by Revsportz, MS Dhoni might be admitted to the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital and Medical Research Institute in Mumbai for a series of tests on his knee injury later this week.
Fans across the country flooded the stadiums during CSK's match just to witness MS Dhoni's presence on the pitch as rumours have been doing rounds since the start of the IPL 2023 that this will be the former Indian skipper's last IPL campaign. However, Dhoni, who is yet to confirm his retirement, admitted that he would like to come back next year.
In the post-match conference, Dhoni said, "If you see circumstantially this is the best time for me to announce retirement. But with the amount of love and affection I’ve been shown wherever I’ve been this year, the easy thing for me would be to say, ‘Thank you very much’. But the tough thing for me is to work hard for another nine months and come back and play at least one more season of IPL. But a lot depends on the body, I have six-seven months to decide and it will be more like a gift from my side."