Australia great and former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Matthew Hayden has been given a tough dilemma. The legendary opener spent three successful years with CSK, winning the Orange Cap in IPL 2009 and winning the trophy in 2010, and has expressed his support for CSK as well since. However, Hayden was posed a seriously difficult question. He was asked to pick between CSK winning IPL 2025 but Australia losing the next Ashes series to England, or Australia winning the Ashes but CSK finishing last in MS Dhoni’s final IPL season.
Hayden had a hilarious first response to the question, calling it a horrible question.
However, Hayden went on to pick country over franchise, stating that losing to England can never be an option for Australia. Therefore, Hayden chose Australia winning the next Ashes at the cost of CSK finishing last in MS Dhoni’s final IPL season.
Dhoni has provided no clarity over his retirement and whether IPL 2025 will even be his last season. The 43-year-old was retained for Rs 4 crore by CSK ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, after the league brought back the rule that allowed players who haven’t played internationally for five years or more to be retained as an uncapped player.
Australia take on England in a five-match Ashes series later in 2025, with the series starting in November and ending in January 2026.
A month ahead of IPL 2025, Dhoni had hinted that he still may have a few years left in him.
“I just want to enjoy cricket for the last, whatever few years, you know, I will be able to play,” Dhoni had said in February during the launch of his app powered by Single.id.
“I want to enjoy it, how I did as a child when I was in school. When I lived in a colony, 4 o’clock (in the afternoon) was sports time, so we’ll go and play cricket more often than not,” Dhoni added.
The 43-year-old kickstarted IPL 2025 with a bang, as Chennai Super Kings defeated arch-rivals Mumbai Indians (MI) in their first game of the season. Dhoni was at his best behind the stumps, sending fans into a frenzy as he stumped Suryakumar Yadav with lightning-quick reflexes.
Dhoni later came out to bat as well, playing two dot balls and staying unbeaten in the end as CSK won the match courtesy of half-centuries by Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra.
Topics mentioned in this article