MS Dhoni’s participation in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season continues to be a major topic of discussion. October 31 is the deadline for retentions ahead of the upcoming mega-auction.

When the BCCI announced the retention guidelines last month, it listed that the Indian players, who hadn't played any international game for at least five calendar years would be considered an uncapped player.

As per the retention rules, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) can retain the legendary wicketkeeper-batter for INR 4 crore.

Notably, Dhoni retired from all formats of international cricket in August 2020 while he played his last match for India in July 2019.

Amid the speculations, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan on Sunday (October 20) said that CSK want MS Dhoni to play at least one more season in the IPL.

"We also want Dhoni to play in the CSK team. But Dhoni has not confirmed it to us yet. Dhoni said, 'I will tell you before October 31.' We hope that he will play," Viswanathan said at an event, as quoted by Sports Vikatan.

Unlike in previous years, when he made it clear that he would return for the following season, Dhoni has remained tight-lipped about his future in the IPL.

Last month, the 43-year-old had said that he would take a call on his future after the retention rules are announced.

Talking about the retention rules, each of the 10 IPL teams can retain up to six cricketers, with no restriction on nationality and including one uncapped cricketer. Besides, the Right to Match (RTM) card option has been reintroduced.

The first three retentions will see the auction purse - finalised at Rs 120 crore for a team - being reduced by Rs 18 crore, Rs 14 crore and Rs 11 crore, respectively. However, the two other additional retentions will cost more than the third. The fourth and the fifth retentions will see a reduction of Rs 18 crore and Rs 14 crore, respectively.

It means a team will see its auction purse reduced by a whopping Rs 75 crore on five players, with only Rs 45 crore left in its kitty for the IPL auction.