Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni on Sunday (November 1) dismissed rumours of his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL), despite his team’s disappointing campaign in the ongoing edition in UAE.
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In 14 games this season, CSK suffered 8 defeats. While they enjoyed a three-match winning streak at the end, it came after the team's playoff chances were well and truly gone with only 3 of their 6 victories coming in the first 11 matches.
It is the first time in IPL history that the Chennai-based franchise failed to qualify for the playoffs.
Apart from the team, Dhoni himself was below par with the bat in the IPL 2020, scoring 200 runs from 12 innings at a strike rate of 116.27.
However, during the toss of the 53rd match of the IPL 2020 between CSK and KXIP, the 39-year-old Dhoni, who retired from international cricket in August this year, said: “Definitely not my last game in yellow. (When asked if it was his last game ever for CSK).”
Having heard the news of Dhoni’s participation in IPL 2021, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar is elated and also has a piece of advice for the CSK captain ahead of the next season.
“It certainly does (bring a smile on my face). He has been such a charismatic cricketer, he brings so much joy with his batting, with his wicketkeeping, and leadership qualities. And his general demeanor on and off the field, what a role model he has been. The more we see of MS Dhoni, the better we feel,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.
“So yes, definitely not. He has got to play on.”
“Well, Sanga said it earlier on as well, he has got to play competitive cricket. Being in the nets is fine but unless he plays competitive cricket, particularly because he is at an age where the reflexes slow down. What do you tend to lose as you get older is your timing. Everything might look good. You look at yourself in the mirror, nothing has changed. You might actually lose a little bit of weight, you might go to the gym to get stronger and fitter. But your timing changes, the timing in the sense, you think your foot is going towards the ball, but it's just that much short for you getting a good drive or the ball going in the air,” he added.
Gavaskar believes Dhoni could score 400 runs in the next IPL season if he plays domestic cricket to regain his form.
“These are little things he has to look at. That means he has to play domestic cricket. There might be no domestic cricket. In that case, not much can be done. But the more he plays competitive cricket, actually matches... in the nets, there will be no pressure, match brings pressure. If he does that, I think he will be good to score 400 runs next year as well,” he remarked.
