Memories of being at work that day, as a sports journalist, are still fresh in my mind. It was the day of the very first IPL player auction. We had not seen anything like that ever before. Cricketers, some of them the biggest names in world cricket, were auctioned (art style) in what was a unique experience, for everyone watching. And at the end of it all, the one who commanded the highest bid price was one MS Dhoni. The India ODI and T20i captain of the time, who had led the national team to a ‘miracle’ title win at the inaugural T20 World Cup the year earlier, was welcomed to the Chennai Super Kings fold for over three times his base price ($400,000). Dhoni, sporting his trademark long locks at the time, was sold for $1.5 million—roughly Rs 6.5 crore at the time. Looking back on that day, one has to say, this was hands-down the best investment the Super Kings have ever made. Ask anyone in the CSK ownership or management, and they will echo that sentiment.
Over the years, as MSD became Tamil Nadu’s favourite adopted son and went from Dhoni to “Thala” (head or leader), it became very clear that this cricketer was beyond the standard definition of traditional cricketing cult-figures. There were fans who printed his image on their wedding invites, a female fan agreed to marry her fiancé only after he managed to get a photograph with Dhoni, others who still get Dhoni’s name and his jersey number (7) painted on their bodies for every CSK match. How many cricketers can you think of whose overall fan-base loyalty has only expanded, even after international retirement? He has played every single edition of the IPL, holds the record for having played the maximum number of finals (11-10 with CSK and one with RPSG), has led the yellow brigade to five titles and is one of only nine players who have been playing the IPL from the very first season in 2008.
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Dhoni Is IPL, IPL Is Dhoni
The one most common refrain that you will hear from CSK fans is: “Dhoni is not (just) a player or captain, he is an emotion.” Very few players in the history of the sport have managed to make a home for themselves in fan consciousness the way MS Dhoni has. And that with almost zero social media presence. He doesn’t even carry a personal phone. And yet, he has almost 50 million followers on Instagram and about 8.6 million on X. He is an emotion indeed.
Which is why when Dhoni was clicked arriving at the Chennai airport in February this year for a pre-season camp wearing a black t-shirt with a message on it in Morse code, millions scrambled to decipher it. In no time, CSK fans had done just that, and the message read, “One last time”. Was this Dhoni’s way of telling his fans that this will be his last IPL season? Surely it wasn’t a random t-shirt? Has the man ever been known to do anything randomly?
My First Meeting With Dhoni
I remember meeting MS Dhoni for the first time in late 2006, as part of an The Hindkesharicontest show, where we got to sit down and have dinner with him, on camera. India were yet to win the first T20 World Cup title, and Dhoni was yet to become “Thala”, but there was a quiet resolve about that well-built young man with his trademark locks that struck me immediately. A confidence that seemed to be nourished from deep self-belief. He had a droll sense of humour and wasn’t prone to frivolity. Even while talking to us and the contest winners, while feasting on butter chicken (his favourite non-vegetarian dish), he seemed completely focused. His approach to most things was a mix of good-natured banter and steely resolve. He could make you feel completely at ease while continuing to command respect. Over three years later, I observed the same thing again when I met him on a balmy evening on February 23, 2010, in Gwalior, on the eve of the second ODI between India and South Africa. This was also the match in which Sachin Tendulkar became the first cricketer ever to score an ODI double century (200* off 147 balls).
Dhoni hadn’t changed. He didn’t need to change, and he wasn’t interested in changing in any way, just because some people thought he should. Gradually, as the critics dropped off one by one, the world began to see that that quiet confidence was his biggest strength. He never wanted to be something he was not. There was no pretence, no mask, no fuss.
Master Of Nonchalance
Over the years, we have seen how nonchalantly Dhoni makes the biggest of announcements. He stepped down as India Test captain midway through a Test tour of Australia in 2014. On August 15, 2020, when the nation was celebrating its 73rd year as an independent country, Dhoni put up an Instagram post saying, “From 1929 hrs consider me as Retired”. This was his way of announcing his retirement from international cricket. So, when he wore that black t-shirt with that same message in Morse code again, at a function during Rishabh Pant’s sister’s wedding, was it obvious perhaps what Dhoni was trying to say? Is the curtain on his IPL career going to come down in his 18th straight season?
The man himself recently told the host broadcasters, “I can play for as long as I want for CSK. That’s my franchise. Even if I’m in a wheelchair, they’ll drag me…” Classic Dhoni, the master of suspense. Anyone who knows him well knows that he doesn’t complicate things. So much so that he doesn’t like to take the field with different strategies in his head. He likes to go with the flow, plan on the spot—like throwing the ball to little-known Joginder Sharma to bowl the last over of the 2007 T20 World Cup final.
But this is where things are a little different, as far as his IPL future is concerned. This one he has to plan, beforehand.
CSK Without Dhoni?
Let’s look at the sequence of events over the last few years. In 2022, Dhoni stepped down as CSK captain and handed the reins of the team to Ravindra Jadeja. Most experts agreed with the premise that he wouldn’t have done this unless he was sure that he was ready to make his exit. He wanted to guide Jadeja, for a season perhaps, and then bow out. But the Jadeja experiment didn’t work, and Dhoni had to return to take charge. Last season, current CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad had revealed how Dhoni had talked to him about potentially taking over as skipper the same year (2022), during a practice session. “I remember in 2022 when he said to me, probably not next year, but after that you might get a chance to lead, so be ready for it,” Gaikwad was quoted as saying. That’s exactly the way things went. Gaikwad was introduced as the new CSK captain last season, with Dhoni, of course, mentoring him. But CSK’s performance last season wasn’t a great one, going by their own lofty standards. The team finished fifth after the league stage, with seven wins and seven losses. In more ways than one, the probability of Dhoni not returning for IPL 2025 was fifty-fifty.
‘Just Helping’
But anyone who has followed the IPL and the Dhoni-CSK relationship will know that he will continue to be involved till he ensures that the team is back to its consistent winning ways. He recently talked about how, contrary to rumours, all major decisions last season were taken by Ruturaj and how he was “just helping him out”. The last three seasons have shown that the team, which has historically been synonymous with consistency, has been struggling with just that. In 2022, they finished ninth, then in 2023, they bounced right back to win the title, and then last season, they again failed to make the play-offs. Dhoni knows the team needs him. As a wicket-keeper, his reflexes are still lightning quick; as a mentor, his inputs are priceless; and as a batter, if he is fully fit, despite how many runs he might have scored in his last few games, the team and the fans will back him to play an impact knock. Which is why it wasn’t surprising to read reports that Dhoni had taken a salary cut for this season, with CSK using the reinstated rule that allows Indian players who haven’t played international cricket in five years to be considered as uncapped.
Like many other modern-day T20 cricketers, Dhoni, too, has had to adapt – due to both how the game has evolved and the fact that he knows he can only push himself so far. Dhoni has been a self-styled floater in Indian limited-overs cricket. For CSK as well, he has chosen to play the same role over the years, with the part of finisher being his favourite. Despite his explosive batting game, Dhoni has only 24 IPL fifties in 230 innings because he has mostly batted low down the order. There was a time he briefly batted at numbers three and four too, but that was a long time ago. Also, depending on whether CSK is setting a target or chasing it, Dhoni’s role in the team has changed. From 2022 to date, he has batted, mostly, anywhere between numbers 5 and 8. Last season, he was carrying an injury, and that affected his batting game, especially his running between the wickets. This season, according to Ruturaj, the 43-year-old former captain is “focused on trying to hit as many as sixes as possible and trying to get the right swing, trying to be in the best shape”.
“In the best shape”, that is exactly what Dhoni’s vision of CSK’s health will be when he finally decides to bring the IPL curtain down. Regardless, the legend of “Thala” will live on forever.
(The author is a former sports editor and primetime sports news anchor. He is currently a columnist, features writer and stage actor)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author