'MS Dhoni Has no Desire to be No.1': Amidst Uncertain Future, CSK Legend Expected to Stay With Beloved Franchise

The IPL governing council recently finalised the player retention rules ahead of the next mega auction which opened the doors for five-time winners Chennai Super Kings to retain the legendary MS Dhoni in their squad as an uncapped player. While Dhoni hasn’t discussed his IPL future with CSK yet, several former India cricketers believe that it’s a no brainer for them to retain the former captain under whom their won all of their trophies.

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Each franchise can keep hold of to six players from their current squad using either retention or RTM option. However, there can be a maximum of five capped players (Indian or overseas) and a maximum of two uncapped layers among retention. The deadline for announcing retained players is October 31.

Former India allrounder Ajay Jadeja says Dhoni, who has done a lot for CSK, has no desire to be treated as the top player in the franchise.

“MS Dhoni for sure,” Jadeja said while revealing his retentions for CSK on JioCinema. “There’s no doubt about that, especially because he’s now an uncapped player. He’s done a lot for the team and has no desire to be treated as the No. 1 player on the squad. His value is unquestioned.”

“Ruturaj Gaikwad is the captain, and he’s had a good year, so you’ll hope to retain him as well. Ravindra Jadeja can’t be left out either, so these three, I think, are perfect for them,” he added.

Aakash Chopra agrees but thinks CSK won’t retain more than four players.

“I don’t think they’ll (CSK) retain five players,” Chopra said. “They might go for 3-4. I see two players worth 18 crore in Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ravindra Jadeja. If you want to keep them, you have to match that price.”

Chopra feels that should allrounder Shivam Dube be let go of, he might end up landing a fat paycheck at the mega auction.

“Other than that, they have MS Dhoni, Shivam Dube, and Matheesha Pathirana. I think they’ll keep Dube and use the RTM card for Deepak Chahar, maybe, depending on his fitness. The price for these players is really high, so the RTM card could be useful to get players for cheaper. If Dube is sold in the auction, he might fetch over 10 or 11 crore,” he said.