MS Dhoni has once again conjured magic as a captain and has powered Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to their 5th Indian Premier League (IPL) title. Playing against Gujarat Titans (GT), Chennai beat them by 5 wickets on the reserve day at the prestigious Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
As a captain, MS Dhoni’s credentials needs no introduction at all. The talismanic skipper has won 5 IPL titles for CSK and has also won the now-defunct Champions League T20 on 2 occasions.
His astute captaincy brain and his ability to remain calm under pressure, makes him one of the best captains of all time. MS Dhoni is 41-years-of-age and is in the twilight of his cricketing career.
In the post-match presentation ceremony of IPL 2023, MS Dhoni gave hints that he might be returning next season as well. This is purely as a gift for the fans, who have showered unconditional love for him in this season.
“If you circumstantially see, it’s the best time to announce the retirement. The easy thing for me to say is thank you and retire,” said MS Dhoni.
“But the hard thing to do is to work hard for nine months and try to play one more IPL season. The body has to hold up. But the amount of love I have received from CSK fans, it would be a gift for them to play one more season. The way they’ve shown their love and emotion, it’s something I need to do for them,” the talismanic skipper added.
Should MS Dhoni use himself as an impact player?
If MS Dhoni decides to prolong his career in the Indian Premier League, then he should ideally use himself as an impact player. MS Dhoni can allow an extra batter to play while CSK bats and he can come in as the captain when CSK bowls.
This would help CSK a lot as MS Dhoni isn’t in the best of form. He scored 104 runs in 12 innings in IPL 2023. But the 41-year-old wicket-keeper batter had an incredible strike-rate of 182.46.
He smashed 10 sixes and each time he dislodged the ball towards the boundary, the entire crowd started shouting in unison and it was an incredible sight to witness.
With 250 matches under his belt in the IPL, MS Dhoni still has the potential to play for a few years. While we all would be hoping he comes back next season, knowing the unpredictable nature of the former skipper of the Indian team, he might draw curtains on his career anytime.
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