The COVID-19 pandemic may have spoiled MS Dhoni's return to cricket, but it won't stop him from making a comeback. His manager and childhood friend Mihir Diwakar opened up on Dhoni's plan for the future.

Diwakar told PTI about Dhoni having no thought of retirement in the near future and he is keen to play IPL. 

"Being friends, we don’t talk about his cricket. But looking at him, he’s not all thinking about retirement.

"He is very determined to play the IPL. He has worked really hard for this. If you remember he was there in Chennai one month in advance before everything was shut down.

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"He has maintained his fitness regimen at his farmhouse and will start practice after the lockdown is lifted. Everything now depends on how fast the situation returns to normalcy."

BCCI has not made any announcement regarding the Indian Premier League 13. But seeing how things are progressing, there are high chances of the tournament taking place this year. Although, the venue for the same is still not clear.

The Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan recently confirmed that Dhoni will stay part of the franchise even after retirement. He would become the boss of CSK. ​​​​​​​"In 10 years from now, my feeling is that he'll be a permanent fixture in Chennai as the Chennai Super Kings Boss," he had said.

(With PTI Inputs)