Earlier, reports claimed that Fleming has been approached for the India head coach role.
While the 42-year-old has kept his cards close to heart, many experts believe that Dhoni has already played his last IPL game.
Amidst all this, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan has said that they have always respected the decisions taken by Dhoni and the decision on his future in the franchise has been left to him, which they expect will come at an appropriate time.
“I do not know. It is a question only MS (Dhoni) can answer. We have always respected the decisions taken by MS. We have left it to him and as all of you know he has always taken his decisions and announced them at the appropriate time,” said Viswanathan in a video posted by CSK on YouTube.
“We do expect that we will get a decision as and when he decides. But we are very hopeful he'll be available for CSK next year. That is the view and expectation of the fans and mine,” he added.
On a separate note, Viswanathan also hinted that CSK's long-serving head coach Stephen Fleming won't apply for the India men's team head coach job, whose deadline for applications is May 27.
“Actually I got a lot of calls from the Indian journalists inquiring whether he is interested in taking a job with the Indian team. So I jokingly asked him, ‘Have you applied for the Indian coaching assignment?' And Stephen just laughed and said, ‘Do you want me to?' I know that it's not going to be his cup of tea because he doesn't like to be involved for nine to 10 months in a year. That's my feeling. I have not discussed anything more with him,” he said.
On the eve of the IPL 2024 opener, MS Dhoni stepped down as CSK captain, handing over the leadership baton to Ruturaj Gaikwad. Under Gaikwad’s captaincy, the defending champions finished the season at fifth position with 14 points to their name but an inferior run-rate meant that they missed out on the playoffs spot.
Viswanathan revealed how the CSK management had discussed the leadership transition from Dhoni to Gaikwad.
“The discussions we had with the team management from before a couple of years ago when Ruturaj came into the CSK and started performing well, we felt that he would be a good choice to captain the side. Both Flem (Fleming) and MS (Dhoni) had long discussions with him, they had plans to make him as a future captain."
“His performances, and also the way he approached the game, and his thoughts whenever he spoke with MS as well as Fleming… both of them felt that he'll be a good captain at CSK. And we were not disappointed; he led the side comfortably. The seniors also helped him. It has not affected his performance with the bat. He has continued to be a very consistent performer," he remarked.
According to Viswanathan, Gaikwad wasn't affected by responsibilities and thanked the CSK fans for accepting the change in the team’s leadership.
“The pressure of captaincy has not affected him. We look forward to his contribution to CSK in the future. The pressure is too high because he's following the footsteps of MS Dhoni.”
“Nobody can match him, but MS had the confidence that Rutu (Gaikwad) has it in him to do a very good job. The acceptance from the crowd really helped him for sure, that is for sure. Because if there is pressure from the crowd, you can imagine what happened to other captains," he said.
“I think CSK fans accepted what MS Dhoni had given to Ruturaj as captain because he (Dhoni) had chosen him. The team management chose him as the captain. And all of you know, never has the management of CSK interfered with the cricketing matters.”
“So, that helped Rutu also, because he was very clear that the instructions have come from team management. He had the responsibility to deliver. I'm confident he will do very well in the future years also."
“Definitely, the CSK management, as well as the fans, have helped the CSK team to do very well. That is important because there is no interference in creating matters with the team. They are left with their job to do.”
“It adds more responsibility to the team. They know now there is not going to be interference from the management, which means they have to deliver. They are professionals; they have to deliver. That has helped us," he concluded.