Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni will be seen leading the franchise in the upcoming IPL 2023, which goes back to the home and away format after three years due to the Covid pandemic.
There has been a lot of speculation of this IPL 16 being the 41-year-old MS Dhoni’s final outing in the IPL as it was said that he would like to bid farewell in front of a home crowd in Chennai.
Ahead of the side's final group game of the season in the 2022 edition, Dhoni had hinted at the same; he stated that he will return next season to personally convey his gratitude to fans across India.
"It's a simple reason: it will be unfair to not play in Chennai and say thank you [to the fans]. Mumbai is one place where, as a team and as an individual, I have got a lot of love and affection. But it wouldn't be nice to the CSK fans. And also, hopefully, next year there will be an opportunity where the teams will be traveling so it will be a like thank you to all the different places where we will be playing games at different venues. Whether it will be my last year or not that's a big question, because you know we can't really predict something two years down the line. But definitely, I'll be working hard to come back strong next year,” Dhoni had said during IPL 2022.
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Meanwhile, Dhoni’s teammate in CSK, Deepak Chahar revealed the plans of his captain during a chat with a reporter.
While Chahar stated that there is no confirmation on whether this is indeed the CSK skipper's final IPL season, he hopes Dhoni will continue to lead the Super Kings next year as well.
“MS Dhoni will play in his last IPL. You saw him practice. How is his batting going on?” the reporter asked.
“No one has said that this would be his final year. At least, he hasn't. Hopefully, he will play more. We don't know any such thing, we want him to play as much as he can. He knows when to retire, we saw it when he did in Tests and international cricket. No one else knows. I just hope he continues to play, it's a privilege to play under him. It has been a dream to play with him. He's in good touch as well, you will see that when he bats in the IPL this year,” Chahar told News India Sports.
The IPL 2023 will begin on March 31 with CSK taking on defending champions Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
