Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni has continued to turn back time in the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League. Captain Cool has limited his role in the team while maximising his st rengths. Predominantly, Dhoni has batted for 8-10 balls in almost every game and focused on hitting boundaries and sixes.
Whereas while fielding, Dhoni has continued with the gloves as he continues to remain one of the best keepers in the tournament. But since the start of the season and even before, there have been rumours about MS Dhoni possibly announcing his retirement from IPL and ending one of the greatest careers in cricketing history.
But we at SportsTiger believe that MS Dhoni may just continue playing for one more year. Justifying this assumption we have listed the following reasons which will persuade Captain Cool to be part of one more IPL season.
No ideal replacement:
Over his illustrious career, MS Dhoni has always put his team forward and hence will take all necessary steps to find his replacement. With Dhoni being one of the best wicketkeepers in the IPL, Chennai Super Kings haven’t found a positional replacement for Captain Cool. The only recognised wicket-keeper in the CSK team is Kiwi wicketkeeper-batter, Devon Conway who is currently 31. Hence signing a long-time replacement will be paramount for the Yellow Army.
Building a leader:
Like the vacancy at the wicketkeeper’s position, a bigger void will be created in the captaincy role. CSK had tried to bring Ravindra Jadeja as a replacement in the 2022 season but that year started off with abysmal fashion as Chennai finished in the ninth place on the table. Hence Dhoni may stay one more year to groom a young player or even Jadeja as his long-term replacement.
Impact player rule:
The new IPL rule brought in for the 2023 season, the Impact player rule will be a massive reason which will allow MS Dhoni to play one more season in the IPL. The new rule allows teams to bring a 12th player into the playing XI, who can bat or bowl four overs. This rule could help Dhoni play one specific role and load manage him in a long tournament.
