MS Dhoni can’t play the role of a mentor for CSK’s new team in CSA T20 League: Report

Dhoni still plays for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.

BCCI has never allowed the Indian male cricketers to participate in foreign T20 leagues like the BBL, CPL, The Hundred, and others. The trend is likely to continue in the future even though multiple IPL franchises have bought teams in the upcoming T20 leagues in South Africa and UAE.

Earlier, it was reported that MS Dhoni might play the role of a mentor for Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) new team in the CSA T20 League.

However, the latest report published in The Indian Express suggests that Dhoni can’t be used in a mentorship role as he is still playing for CSK in the IPL.

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“It’s clear, no Indian player including domestic players can take part in any other league until he is retired from all forms of the game. If any player wants to take part in these upcoming leagues he can only do so when he cuts off all ties with the BCCI,” The Indian Express quoted a BCCI official as saying.

When asked if Dhoni can be part of such a league in any capacity other than a player, the BCCI official replied: “Then he can’t play IPL for CSK. He has to retire here first.”

In September 2019, BCCI had issued a show cause notice to Dinesh Karthik for his attendance at a promotional event of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) franchise Trinbago Knight Riders, which is owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

Karthik, who used to lead KKR back then, was seen in the TKR dressing room and also attended the team's opening CPL 2019 game against St Kitts & Nevis in Port of Spain.

Subsequently, Karthik had to apologize unconditionally for breaching a clause of his central contract.

As per BCCI’s current rule, any Indian male cricketer who has not announced formal retirement from all forms of the game — domestic and international — isn’t eligible to take part in any overseas T20 league that competes with the Indian Premier League.

Back in 2019, Yuvraj Singh called time on his international cricket career and then featured in the Global Canada T20 League and Abu Dhabi T10 League for Toronto Nationals and Maratha Arabians respectively.

On the other hand, BCCI has allowed its female cricketers to take part in overseas leagues and the likes of Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues among others have seen in action in competitions such as WBBL and The Hundred.

(The Indian Express inputs)