Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
Former India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain, MS Dhoni is undoubtedly one of the greatest cricketers and the 43-year-old is all set to return to competitive cricket on Sunday, March 23 when the five-time champions take on their arch-rivals Mumbai Indians (MI) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai in IPL 2025. Ahead of the high-octane clash, MS Dhoni dropped a big statement on his long-going retirement talks.
It is to be noted that talks around MS Dhoni’s retirement have been going around since the time he put down curtains to his international career. However, he has time and again put the rumours to rest as the seasons come to a close, he recently put his decision out loud ahead of CSK’s IPL 2025 opener.
That's my franchise. Even if I'm in a wheelchair, they'll drag me: MS Dhoni on CSK
Speaking in a conversation with JioHotstar, Dhoni shared his thoughts, stating that he could continue playing as long as he desired, thus reflecting his commitment towards the five-time champions. "I can play for as long as I want for CSK. That's my franchise. Even if I'm in a wheelchair, they'll drag me," MS Dhoni said.
Earlier, CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad also spoke of MS Dhoni’s ability to keep contributing to the team despite nearing his career end. "Whatever he is doing at the age of 43, I think it is remarkable. We have certain strengths that we have been following since the last two years. So, I think nothing much really changes and hopefully he will continue to deliver those crucial knocks for us," Gaikwad said at the pre-season presser.
Chennai Super Kings IPL 2025 squad
Ruturaj Gaikwad, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Matheesha Pathirana, Shivam Dube, Noor Ahmad, Ravichandran Ashwin, Devon Conway, Khaleel Ahmed, Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Sam Curran, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Deepak Hooda, Mukesh Choudhary, Shaik Rasheed, Nathan Ellis, Jamie Overton, Ramkrishna Ghosh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shreyas Gopal, Vansh Bedi, Andre Siddharth
