File photo of MS Dhoni© BCCI
The BCCI announced the retention rules for IPL 2025 and one specific part of the announcement was extremely important for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). According to the new rules, any cricketer who has not played for India in the last five calendar years will be considered 'uncapped' and that will significantly decrease the amount of money that a franchise will have to pay to retain that specific player ahead of the auction. The rule applies to former India captain MS Dhoni and CSK now have the chance to retain his services for Rs 4 crore. However, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan had a massive statement on Dhoni and what his future can look like in the Indian Premier League.
“We are not sure at this stage. We might not even use it for MS Dhoni. It's still too early to comment on this because we haven't had discussions with him. Dhoni was in the US and we haven't had discussions yet. Now I am travelling this week, so there is a possibility of some discussions in the coming week. So there could be some clarity then. We are hopeful of him playing but it's a call Dhoni will himself make,"he said in an interview with Times of India.
Although Dhoni retired from international cricket in 2020, he last played for India in July 2019. His final game was against New Zealand in the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final that India lost.
“A capped Indian player will become uncapped if the player has in the last five calendar years preceding the year in which the relevant Season is held, not played in the starting XI in International Cricket (Test match, ODI, Twenty20 International) or does not have a Central Contract with BCCI. This will be applicable for Indian Players only,” an IPL Statement said.