MS Dhoni, an Indian, and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) legend, argues that the Impact Player rule is unnecessary to add masala (or spice) to an already competitive and popular event.

Dhoni was speaking in an interview with JioHotstar, the video of which was released on Monday. He also quietly responded to charges that the rule helps him keep his spot in the CSK setup, stating that it 'does and doesn't' advantage him because he still needs to keep wickets and be active in the team's general procedures.

“When it first came out, I said one thing that IPL is in such a good position, aur koi masala daalne ki zaroorat nahi hai (there’s no need to spice it up further)," Dhoni said in the interview. “Games were already quite high-scoring, they were going well, the matches were quite competitive. We have seen it often in this format that matches end in five overs — you lose too many wickets, fail to make proper runs and the opposition wins easily,” Dhoni told JioHotstar.

“If you lose a few wickets early, more often than not you are out of the game. So, when this rule came, I felt it was not really needed at this point in time because TRP was up, the quality of cricket was good,and  good players were coming up but it was implemented. In a way, it helps me but it still doesn’t help me because I still do my keeping so I am not an impact player, I have to be involved in the game," he added.

Dhoni, 43, is in his 18th season with CSK in IPL 2025. The franchise began the season with a four-wicket victory over the Mumbai Indians on Sunday. Dhoni's incredibly quick stumping helped CSK claim Suryakumar Yadav's vital wicket. He also received two balls to bat in the second inning but was not out at zero.