Raina wants Dhoni to play one more IPL season to help Gaikwad

MS Dhoni’s close friend and former India and Chennai Super Kings teammate, Suresh Raina, wants the 43-year-old wicketkeeper-batter to play one more season of the Indian Premier League.

Before the start of IPL 2024, MSD stepped down from captaincy and played the entire tournament as a wicketkeeper-batter. Throughout the season, he battled with severe pain, including a muscle tear, which severely hampered his athletic abilities between the wickets. 

MSD only walked out to bat with two to three overs remaining but still managed to make an impact. Despite battling pain, he smashed 161 runs in the season, striking at 220.55, with 27 boundaries, with no real concerns over his batting form.

Ruturaj Gaikwad was handed over the captaincy but failed to lead CSK to the playoffs. The Men in Yellow lost a must-win game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and were knocked out of the tournament. 

Speaking to Sports Tak, Raina said, “I want MS Dhoni to play in IPL 2025, considering how he batted last year. I feel Ruturaj Gaikwad needs one more year, the way he captained and a lot of things were said after the loss to RCB. However, Ruturaj has done a great job.”

Dhoni, however, has made it clear that he will only decide his IPL future after the governing council finalises the auction and retention plans ahead of the 2025 edition. 

The 43-year-old, who has been with CSK since the inception of the tournament, wants to know how many players a franchise would be allowed to retain and will only then take a call on whether he wants to play another season or not. 

There have also been reports suggesting that the old retention rule, which allowed franchises to retain or buy players retired from international cricket for at least five years as uncapped players, could be back ahead of the 2025 edition of the IPL. 

If this rule change goes through, then CSK might be able to retain Dhoni for just INR 4 crore, which is what an uncapped player would cost under the rule. CSK won’t have to empty their pockets to get the former Indian captain then. 

If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out — big time. Play Fantasy on Cricket.com NOW! Download the App here.