Chennai Super Kings (CSK) CEO Kasi Viswanathan talked about the future of franchise captain MS Dhoni in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and said that it will be up to the veteran cricketer to take a call whether he’ll play in IPL 2024 or not.
MS Dhoni led the CSK to their fifth IPL title as they defeated defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL 2023 final in Ahmedabad.
However, throughout the tournament, he was hampered by a knee injury. But he didn’t miss a single match and led the team from the front and ensured that his team walked away with their fifth IPL title.
The former Indian skipper went through knee surgery at the beginning of this month to overcome this issue.
CSK CEO Viswanathan said that during the entire IPL, they never asked MS Dhoni to play if he did not want to. He said that they knew that if Dhoni was unfit, he would have made it clear well in advance.
"We never asked him things like 'Do you want to play or do you want to sit out?' If he can't, he would've told us straight away. We knew it was a struggle for him to play, but his commitment to the team, his leadership, and how the team benefits everyone knows. From that perspective, you have to appreciate him,” Viswanathan told ESPNCricinfo.
“There's an aura around him,” Devon Conway feels lucky to play under MS Dhoni at CSK
"Till the final, he never complained about his knee to anybody. Though everyone knew, and you would've seen him struggling while running, he never complained even once. After the final, he said, 'Okay, I'll have surgery'. He's finished his surgery, he's quite happy, he's recovering," Viswanathan added.
There are still nine months left before the next IPL season begins and Dhoni is about to begin his rehab soon after taking the rest of three weeks of post-surgery.
"He told us immediately after the final is over he'll fly to Mumbai, have surgery, and go back to Ranchi for rehab. In Mumbai, after Ruturaj's wedding [on June 4], I visited him. It was a courtesy call. He's quite comfortable. He said he'll rest for three weeks and then start his rehab. And as he said, he's not going to play until January-February. We don't need to remind him about all that," Viswanathan said.
Viswanathan continued by providing some insight into Dhoni's future, including whether he will play another season or put up his gloves and retire.
"He knows what to do, how to go about it, so we aren't going to ask him 'what are you going to do, how' etc. He will inform us on his own. Whatever he's doing, he'll call first and inform only Mr. N Srinivasan, not anyone else. Factually, he'll be straightforward with him. From him, we'll get the information that this is what he's doing. It's been this way since 2008. That's how it will continue," Viswanathan signed off.
(ANI inputs)
