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MS Dhoni, the former captain of India, is still going strong in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at 43 years of age, defying odds and setting a new standard of longevity for professional cricketers at the top level. After securing five IPL titles for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) under his leadership, he relinquished his captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad before the IPL 2024 season, ushering in a new era for one of the most successful franchises in the league’s history.
Following a tough season of the IPL earlier this year individually and as a unit for CSK, which saw MS Dhoni being constantly demoted down the batting order, scoring just 161 runs at a strike-rate of 220.55, there were rumours surrounding whether he will return to the league for the 2025 season. But, to the relief of his massive fan following, MS Dhoni decided to make himself available for the IPL 2025 season, which led to CSK retaining him alongside captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, Matheesha Pathirana, Ravindra Jadeja, and Shivam Dube.
MS Dhoni is an uncapped player retention by CSK for IPL 2025 season
With the IPL governing council bringing in a new retention rule, wherein a capped player was deemed as an uncapped player after not playing for his national team for five years, Chennai Super Kings were able to retain MS Dhoni as an uncapped player for INR 4 Crore only. This salary is a stark contrast to what MS Dhoni earned as a capped player for CSK over the last 16 years, with his last payday being INR 12 Crore for the IPL 2024 season.
Last season, MS Dhoni made 14 appearances in the IPL, which meant that for every match he earned INR 81.58 Lakh, but in the 2025 season, the former CSK captain will be earning INR 28.58 Lakh only for every match played, not including the playoffs and beyond. The difference between the per-match salary for MS Dhoni from last season to the upcoming season of the IPL is a whopping INR 53 Lakh, which is quite a big drop for a player of his brand and calibre.
Such is the commitment MS Dhoni has towards Chennai Super Kings that he is willing to take a massive pay cut, just to be part of the transition phase for the franchise under their new captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. But regardless, the MS Dhoni fandom is all excited, counting down the days to when their hero steps into the field in a CSK jersey next time.
