Mahendra Singh Dhoni, captain of the Chennai Super Kings, says he is in no rush to decide on his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL). The 41-year-old former India captain has eight to nine months to make a decision as the next IPL auction will take place in December this year. After guiding CSK to their tenth IPL final, Dhoni said, “I don’t know, I have 8-9 months to decide. Why take that headache now? I have ample time to decide. The auction is in December.”
There have been speculations that 2023 could be a swansong season for Dhoni. But, he said he will always come to CSK and added, “I have been out of home from January, been practicing since March, so we will see.” CSK, who had finished at the ninth spot in 2022, dished out a commanding performance to outclass defending champions Gujarat Titans.
GT captain Hardik Pandya blamed the bowlers for giving away extra runs by bowling “soft balls”. “That’s the beauty about him (Dhoni), with his mind and the way he uses the bowlers, it feels like he’s adding 10 runs. We kept losing wickets; he kept changing the bowlers, credit to him (Dhoni).”
One of the best captains to have played the game, Dhoni said he can be an “annoying” skipper, frequently changing his bowlers and fielders according to the match situation. “You see the wicket, you see conditions, and you keep adjusting the field. I can be an annoying captain because I change the field every time.”