Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni didn't respond with assurance when he was asked about his future with the franchise during the toss against Punjab Kings (PBKS). Dhoni said there is no confirmation on whether fans would get to see him in the yellow jersey as a player next year.
"Well, you can see me in yellow next year. But whether I will be playing for CSK? There are a lot of uncertainties around it for the simple reason that we have two new teams coming up," Dhoni had told Danny Morrison.
Former CSK batsman Shane Watson said the difference in Dhoni's comment this season from the last year suggests he may not continue as a player. At the end of IPL 2020, when the CSK skipper was asked if it would be his last appearance in IPL, he had replied, "Definitely not".
"Hearing that answer from MS to me was very different to the answer he gave last year where he was very confident that yes, he will definitely be back. Hearing him sort of talk about things such as let us see what happens at the auction and all the different sorts of permutations with two new teams coming in, that for me more so suggests that he will be in yellow still but potentially not as a player and more as a mentor, which still is a huge role in the franchise," Watson said on Star Sports.
Dhoni may have led the team to the playoffs this season after failing last season, but the 40-year-old isn't the same force with the bat anymore. Speaking further about no clarity on the retention policy for next season, Dhoni had said, "We don't know the retention policy. We don't know how many foreigners, Indian players we can retain, the money cap that every player will be cutting from the kitty. So there are a lot of uncertainties."
Dhoni further added that unless the retention rules are clear, it will be tough to comment on his future with CSK. "Unless the rules are in place you can't really decide that. So we will wait for it to happen and hopefully, it will be good for everyone," he added.
(With StarSports Inputs)
