Music to the ears of MS Dhoni fans; CSK CEO confirms MS Dhoni likely to lead the franchise even in 2022

MS Dhoni has taken a hiatus ever since the semi final loss in the 2019 world cup against New Zealand. The IPL 2020 will be the first time MS Dhoni takes to the field since then.

As we inch closer to the IPL 2020, all eyes will be on Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni, who will return to playing cricket for the first time since India’s World Cup exit last year. While Dhoni’s return is a sign that he may still have some cricket left in him, CEO of the franchise Kasi Viswanathan has hinted at the former India captain continuing till 2022 besides providing surety for at least the coming couple of seasons.

“We don’t worry about him at all. Yes, we can expect MS Dhoni to be part of both (IPL 2020 and 2021) and probably for even the next year, 2022,” Viswanathan told India Today. “I am getting updates through the media only, saying he has been training in Jharkhand in indoor nets. But we don’t have to worry about the skipper, boss. We don’t worry about him at all. He knows his responsibilities and he will take care of himself and the team.”

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Days after Suresh Raina said ‘Thala’ Dhoni’s ‘helicopters’ are expected to be out soon, it seems as if his former CSK and India captain has taken Raina’s words seriously. On Friday, reports emerged that Dhoni hit the ground running in a bid to prepare for the IPL, hitting the JSCA indoor facility ahead of the team’s departure. Due to lockdown and social distancing, there aren’t too many bowlers available in Ranchi at the moment, so Dhoni has taken to facing bowling machines for the time being.

Vishwanathan is not the first to put to bed the rumours surrounding Dhoni’s IPL future. Owing to a lack of a central contract from the BCCI, there were strong rumours that India’s greatest captain’s career could be about to end through retirement. In January this year however, N Srinivasan confirmed that MS Dhoni would be leading the franchise in 2021 as well. He went on to add that Dhoni would go into the auction in 2021 but he was confident that they would go out there and ensure Chennai’s Thala was retained.

Vishwanathan further elaborated upon CSK’s preparation and training plans with the IPL being shifted overseas to the UAE. The CEO confirmed that the franchise team will be reaching Chennai on the 16th of August, and five days later will be departing for the UAE on the 21st of August. This could prove to be a fantastic opportunity for CSK to add impetus to their legendary status in an IPL season dubbed as having the potential of being the biggest ever.

“The team will start practicing at Chepauk mostly by August 16. Dhoni and Raina, along with other team members, would arrive by August 14-15, and we would leave for UAE around August 21,” he said. “It will be a skill-based plus training camp. It can’t immediately start off with skills because they are coming back after a long off.”