Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) seems to be not worried about Mahendra Singh Dhoni's international retirement, as the CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan is expecting their talismanic captain to be part of the team in IPL 2021 and 2022.
Dhoni left everyone surprised with his retirement from international cricket on August 15. He last played for India in the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand.
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The 39-year-old is set for a return to competitive cricket in the upcoming IPL 2020 to be played in the UAE from September 19 to November 10 and CSK wants Dhoni to play for them as long as he wants.
Viswanathan told TOI: “He has quit international cricket only. He is going to play for CSK. We want him to play for us as long as he wants. In fact, we plan to retain him as a player after the 2021 IPL too.”
There were speculations that Dhoni might quit the domestic cricket too if CSK manages to win the IPL this year, but Viswanathan said: “The decision to retire from international cricket was typical of Dhoni. But we don't interfere with him when it comes to cricketing decisions. However, we certainly hope that he doesn't make a decision like that and quit CSK.”
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He further revealed that there was no hint about Dhoni’s decision during the team's first practice session at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday.
The CSK CEO further noted: “The practice started around 4:30 pm and Dhoni finished around 7:00 and went back to the dressing room. Half an hour later, I received a text from our owner N Srinivasan, asking me to check whether the news was correct. I confronted Dhoni when he returned from the dressing room and he confirmed the news.”
Viswanathan further said former India captain didn't show any emotions when he broke the news to him about quitting international cricket.
He signed off by saying: “His decision completely took us by surprise but he showed no emotions. He was as cool and calm as ever. The Indian team and CSK have achieved success over the years under Dhoni's captaincy because there was clarity in his thoughts. On Saturday, too, I could see the same clarity in his decision.”
(With TOI inputs)
