He might have retired from international cricket and is well past his prime, but MS Dhoni continues to be the leader of the pack in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise.

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Dhoni has been leading CSK since the inception of IPL in 2008. He has captained the side to 3 IPL titles and 2 Champions League T20 trophies till date.

However, CSK endured a forgettable last season under Dhoni’s captaincy. In the IPL 2020, the Chennai-based franchise failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in the tournament history.

Despite the setback, CSK’s management showed trust in Dhoni and kept him all the helm of affairs.

Speaking at the India Today Conclave South on Friday (March 12), CSK owner N Srinivasan explained why they have persisted with the 39-year-old Dhoni.

He also opened up about the special relationship that he and his franchise share with the former Indian skipper.

"For your information MS Dhoni is in Chennai. He takes his cricket so seriously, he is practicing in morning in the indoor nets and in the afternoon he is practicing at Chepauk.

"He is a very determined person and that is what we like. One more thing, Cricket is about winning, IPL is about winning but there are also things such as consistency and loyalty and I think that is what oozes out of us.

"We are in cricket for last 50 years, we started in early 60s, almost the entire Tamil Nadu Ranji team was employed by us. So we have been in cricket for a long time, we have been running teams, we have a true appreciation and a good appreciation of good cricket," Srinivasan said.

He also highlighted Dhoni's contributions to CSK’s success and stated that the skipper and Chennai both fell in love with each other.

"There are two-three points, the first is, we must recognise that Chennai was one of the 5 original Test centres in India when Test cricket. So, when IPL was launched I said Chennai must have a team. So, India Cements wrote to then president Sharad Pawar Sir and asked 'can we bid?' I have been writing the letter although I was a treasurer myself. This has been forgotten in all the statements made subsequently. India cements did not bid without permission. Chennai is such a cricket-loving city. It should have a franchise and this is what happened. Then MS Dhoni came, he fell in love with Chennai and Chennai fell in love with him -- rest is history," Srinivasan remarked.

Sharing insight on how CSK functions, Srinivasan said the franchise never treats the players as their own properties.

"But very important factor, when you look at franchise based cricket, this is not new in all countries and has been there for decades before. You own the franchise and not the player, so you have treat them well. A player is an individual, who contributes to the franchise. I think we recognised the fact that we own the franchise and not the players. Players were happy to play for CSK, public took to CSK, the whole world took to CSK because of word of mouth. Lot of cricketers, international cricketers, see the world is small, they said this is the franchise to play," N Srinivasan concluded.

IPL 2021 is due to begin on April 9, with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore in the tournament opener at Chepauk.

CSK will open their campaign against Delhi Capitals on April 10 in Mumbai.