MS Dhoni IPL retirement: CSK captain likely to quit after IPL 2023
After failing to qualify for the IPL playoffs last season, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni had confirmed his return to the league in 2023. And now the next year’s IPL could be his last.
On Tuesday (November 15), all 10 teams announced their lists of retained and released players. CSK has retained all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja while letting go Dwayne Bravo.
Also read: IPL 2023: Full list of retained, released, traded players by all 10 teams; total purse remaining
Dhoni is set to lead CSK in IPL 2023 and as per a report, the former India captain will retire from IPL next year. Post-retirement, the 41-year-old Dhoni is likely to take up a role with the Indian cricket team, the report added.
“Dhoni is expected to retire from the game after next year’s IPL and the BCCI is keen to use his experience and technical acumen in the right manner. The former captain could be asked to work with a specialized set of players since managing three formats is proving to be too demanding for head coach Rahul Dravid,” a report in the Telegraph said.
Also read: Dhoni to play IPL 2023
“There has been talking in the BCCI about including a Mahendra Singh Dhoni in some capacity with the T20 side to bring in the expert skill for that fearless brand of cricket in ICC tournaments,” the report added.
During IPL 2022, Dhoni had said that he wants to thank the fans in Chennai by playing in front of the CSK supporters in IPL 2023.
Also read: IPL 2022 award winners, prize money details, key stats
“Definitely (I will play IPL 2023). It’s a simple reason: it will be unfair to not play in Chennai and say thank you (to the fans). Mumbai is one place where, as a team and as an individual, I have got a lot of love and affection. But it wouldn’t be nice to the CSK fans,” Dhoni had said.
Y. E. S! 👏 👏
𝗠𝗦 𝗗𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗶 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗕𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸! 💛 💛
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/ExR7mrzvFI#TATAIPL | #RRvCSK | @msdhoni | @ChennaiIPL pic.twitter.com/mdFvLE39Kg
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 20, 2022
However, when asked whether IPL 2023 would be his last season, he had said it was difficult to predict.
“And also, hopefully, next year there will be an opportunity where the teams will be travelling so it will be a like thank you to all the different places where we will be playing games at different venues. Whether it will be my last year or not that’s a big question, because you know we can’t really predict about something two years down the line. But definitely I’ll be working hard to come back strong next year,” Dhoni said in May.
Ahead of IPL 2022, Dhoni had handed over the CSK captaincy to Jadeja. However, the all-rounder quit after eight games and Dhoni was back at the helm.
Under Dhoni’s captaincy, CSK has won four IPL titles (2010, 2011, 2018, 2021).
