MS Dhoni’s cameo of 13-ball 25 went in vain as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) suffered a 27-run defeat at the hands of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in a battle for the final IPL 2024 playoffs spot on Sunday (May 18).
While the defending champions were chasing a daunting target of 219, they needed over 200 runs to qualify and came remarkably close with Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja launching a counterattack towards the end.
CSK required 17 runs off the final over, but despite Dhoni smashing a towering six off the first ball, Yash Dayal held his nerves to secure RCB’s victory.
If not for that six, Dhoni perhaps would have taken his team to the playoffs comfortably. Notably, his 100-meter six resulted in the ball getting lost and the CSK icon perished in the very next delivery while hitting the replaced white cherry for a maximum.
"The ball was lost and had to be replaced. Dayal got a drier ball and suddenly hitting became difficult," a senior CSK official told TOI.
On the eve of the IPL 2024 opener, MS Dhoni stepped down as CSK captain, handing over the leadership baton to Ruturaj Gaikwad. Therefore, his future with the franchise has become a topic of discussion all over again
"Dhoni has not told anybody in CSK that he is quitting. He has told the management that he will wait for a couple of months before taking a final call," TOI quoted a source close to the development as saying.
Despite battling with calf injury, Dhoni’s performance this season was remarkable. He managed to amass 161 runs at an average of 53.66 and a staggering strike rate of 220.54 across 11 innings.
"He did not feel any discomfort in his running between the wickets and that is a plus," the source said.
There is a mega-auction coming up next season and teams may be allowed to retain a maximum of five players.
According to TOI, there are four CSK players -- Ruturaj Gaikwad, Jadeja, Dube and Matheesha Pathirana -- who are likely to be retained by the franchise. In that case, Dhoni may well opt for the lowest retention slot without blocking too much money for new players up for grabs in the auction table.
Moreover, Dhoni may wait and see if the ‘impact player’ rule continues to exist in the IPL or not. This rule gives Dhoni the luxury of batting in the last two overs when he doesn't have to do too much running.
If BCCI decides to abolish this rule, it may not be too viable for a team to have a batter exclusively for only 12 balls.
"We will wait for Dhoni's communication. He always has the best interests of the team in mind, let's see what happens," the CSK official said.
(With TOI Inputs)
