Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 will conclude with the final between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Friday (October 15). With this match, the ongoing IPL cycle (2018-2021) will also end and a mega-auction is coming up before the next IPL edition.

The franchises will be planning for the next cycle and the players will be retained and shortlisted to be picked in the auction accordingly. CSK captain MS Dhoni's future with the franchise is one of the major talking points, especially after his statement during the toss against Punjab Kings.

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Dhoni hadn't given a clear answer on his availability with CSK for next season as a player. Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra feels if the CSK skipper believes some cricket is left in him, he would play the next season which is only 6 months away.

“Dhoni is going to retain CSK for sure. Now in what capacity it's up to him. It's never been a transactional kind of relationship between the two. MSD is equal to CSK, so if he has a season in him, which is only six months away, and if he has the desire to play as he will play,” Chopra told Star Sports.

“But I'm sure he's also mindful of the fact that next year's big auction, a lot of money is being parked on one player for the next three seasons. If that's going to happen then you're going to hamper the chances of creating a good team at a big auction. So, if that plays out the way I think it is, MS might be there as a mentor and not as a player,” he added.

Dhoni, who has led CSK since the inaugural edition of the IPL, had said that fans will see him "in yellow" next year, but there is uncertainty on whether that will be as a player. "You'll see me in yellow next season, but whether I'll be playing for CSK you never know," he had said. 

(Inputs from Star Sports)