With the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction approaching closer, reports suggest that the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are set to retain their iconic player, MS Dhoni. This decision comes after speculation about the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reviving the player retention policy for the upcoming season.
The Middle East has emerged as a possible location for the IPL mega auction, which is scheduled for December of this year. The event is most likely to take place outside of India. Although the BCCI has not yet made the retention regulations official, it is anticipated that franchises would have until the middle of November to make their retention choices. It is also expected that Right to Match (RTM) options would be available again in the auction, giving clubs even more strategic possibilities.
If the BCCI permits teams to keep five players, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni, and Matheesha Pathirana will be on CSK’s roster, according to a RevSportzGlobal report. Notably, a mutual agreement is expected to place Dhoni in the lowest bid group, which could help CSK manage its pay cap better.
Even though the seasoned cricketer resigned as captain just before the 2024 season, his impact on CSK is still immense. He participated in all 14 games and scored 161 runs with 13 sixes and 14 boundaries in the previous season.
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A regulation that would designate players as uncapped if they retired from international cricket for a minimum of five years is being considered for reintroduction by the BCCI. This may be quite advantageous for CSK, as it would allow them to keep the Ranchi-born player uncapped and free up additional salary cap space for other important players. In contrast to the INR 12 crore CSK spent to keep Dhoni in 2022, a franchise would have just needed to pay INR four crore to retain an uncapped player under prior norms.