Legendary India batter Sunil Gavaskar has called MS Dhoni a ‘once in a century’ cricketer and hoped that the ongoing IPL 2023 is not the last time the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain is seen playing cricket.
Gavaskar's comments came after Chennai Super Kings played their final home game of the group stages of IPL 2023. The former India captain said everybody wants to see more of MS Dhoni even as speculation about his retirement from IPL is rife.
The former India captain gave a perfect IPL moment when he joined CSK's post-match lap of honor to thank the Chepauk crowd and got his shirt autographed by MS Dhoni in a massive fan moment.
It was an emotional moment for CSK players as they went around Chepauk, acknowledging and thanking the incredible support over the home games in IPL 2023 despite a defeat in their final group game at the venue to Kolkata Knight Riders.
"KP (Kevin Pietersen) spoke about it earlier, about the Impact Player. As an impact player, he can stick around and play. Players like him come once in a century, not even once in a generation. And therefore, you just want to see more and more of them. We are hoping this is not the last hurrah and that he will be around for some more time to come," Gavaskar told Star Sports.
Dhoni has remained tight-lipped about his plans even as speculation about his retirement has grown. MS Dhoni's former India and CSK teammate Suresh Raina also said Dhoni had told him he would play another season.
Dhoni's IPL 2023 performance has been hindered by a knee injury issue that has caused concern.
"I think everybody wants to keep going. With the impact player becoming more relevant now, I think he can. Yes, absolutely. This is the one tournament he needs to get up for. He can rest his body. If something is wrong with his knee, he can try and sort it out over the next couple of months. Why not? He is a fit guy, he is an athlete," Pietersen said on Star Sports.
"He must love this. Why would he want to give this away? He is under no pressure. He doesn't have to perform. He just needs to be MS Dhoni. And for his kids, for his wife, for his family how amazing must this have been? Watching this lap of honor," he added.
Despite losing against KKR, CSK kept second place in the points standings. On Saturday, May 20, the four-time league champions will play Delhi Capitals in Delhi in their last league match.
