Legendary Indian cricketer MS Dhoni is likely to announce his retirement from the Indian Premier League after the end of the 17th season. Dhoni officially announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15, 2020 but his engagement in IPL remained intact. The biggest indication that this could be Dhoni’s last season came when he decided to hand over CSK captaincy to young opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad on the eve of the IPL 2024 opener between the five-time champions and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Chennai.
“There is speculation that Dhoni will retire at the end of the season and therefore the franchise felt the need for a smooth transition in the stalwart’s presence as a player,” said news agency PTI in one of its reports.
CSK and Dhoni share an unbreakable bond and the World Cup-winning captain is expected to keep a significant role in the franchise going forward, albeit not as a player.
CSK had attempted the leadership transition even in the 2022 edition but it did not work out with Ravindra Jadeja handing back the captaincy duties to Dhoni after eight games.
“It didn’t work out at that time, this (the move to appoint Ruturaj Gaikwad) is different,” CSK CEO Kasi Visawanathan told PTI.
The 42-year-old, who played with a dodgy knee last season, underwent surgery after leading CSK to their fifth title.
Dhoni has played as many as 250 IPL matches, scoring more than 5000 runs at a strike rate of 135.92.
Due to his knee issues, Dhoni pushed himself down to number 8 in the batting order last season but after regaining full fitness, he is expected to bat higher up this edition.
MS Dhoni’s stellar record as CSK captain
Dhoni led CSK to two victories in the now-defunct Champions League T20 in addition to five IPL championships, having captained the team in 235 of their 249 games across all tournaments. In addition, he led Rising Pune Supergiant for 14 games in 2016 and 2017 while CSK was suspended for two years from the IPL. He captained teams in 226 IPL games overall, placing him well above of Rohit Sharma (158) in the captaincy standings.
Dhoni also has the third-best win-loss ratio in the IPL. His win-loss ratio of 1.461 is only bettered by Hardik Pandya (2.444) and Steven Smith (1.470) among captains who have led teams in 20 or more matches.
Onus on Ruturaj Gaikwad to carry on the legacy
Gaikwad, who has played six ODIs and 19 T20s for India, made his CSK debut in 2020 and has gone on to represent the team in 52 games.
“Whatever Dhoni does, it is in the best interest of the team. I got to know of the decision just before the captains’ meeting. You have to respect his decision, it is his call,” said Viswanathan.
Gaikwad, a stylish opener, had a memorable run last year, aggregating 590 runs in 16 games at an impressive strike rate of 147.50. His breakout year was 2021 when he amassed 635 runs in 16 games.
The 27-year-old from Maharashtra is not new to captaincy, having led the Indian team to the gold medal in the Asian Games last year. He has also led his state side Maharashtra.
