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Former India captain and veteran of the game, MS Dhoni is all set to return to competitive cricket with the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). While its been six years since MS Dhoni retired from international cricket, he continues to ply his trade for five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) after being retained by the franchise for INR 4 Crore.
As the day of his return comes close, he was recently questioned about his retirement. Dhoni recently opened up on his retirement plans, while he did not give an update on when will he draw curtains to his elongated career. “I've retired since 2019, so it will be quite some time. What I've been doing in the meantime is I just want to enjoy cricket for the last, whatever few years, you know, I will be able to play,” Dhoni told PTI at an event.
Want to enjoy it: MS Dhoni opens up on his retirement rumours
“I want to enjoy it, how I did as a child when I was in school. When I lived in a colony, 4 o'clock (in the afternoon) was sports time, so we'll go and play cricket more often than not. But if the weather doesn't permit, we used to play football. I want to play with the same kind of innocence… (but it is) easier said than done.” he added.
The 43-year-old also shared some invaluable advice for the budding cricketers, adding that not everyone gets an opportunity to represent the country. “For me as a cricketer, I always wanted to perform for the Indian cricket team because I've said that in the past also, that not everybody gets a chance to represent the country. For us as cricketers, whenever we went on to the big stage or whenever we were touring, there was a chance for us to win laurels for the country and so for me it was the country that always came first,” he began.
“You always need to figure out what is good for you. When I was playing, I made sure that cricket was a whole for me — nothing else mattered. What time I had to sleep? What time I had to get up? What impact it had on (my) cricket, that was the most important thing. You know, all the friendships, the fun, all those can happen later. There is a right time for everything and I felt if you are able to recognise that, that's the best thing you can do (for yourself)”, he added.
