MS Dhoni has been retained as an uncapped player ahead of IPL 2025. During a recent event, he opened up on retirement.
IPL 2025 is scheduled to begin on March 22, and it will be one season with MS Dhoni in action. The 43-year-old announced his retirement from international cricket after making his last outing for India in their 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final defeat against New Zealand on July 9, 2019.
MS Dhoni speaks during an event.(PTI)
It has been nearly six years since then, but he has still proved to be a pivotal figure for CSK in their recent seasons. In the upcoming season, he will feature as an uncapped player as he has been a retired international player for more than five years now.
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MS Dhoni on retirement
Speaking during the launch of an event on Wednesday, He opened up on his final IPL years. Speaking to PTI, he said, “I’ve retired since 2019, so it will be quite some time. What I’ve been doing in the meantime is I just want to enjoy cricket for the last, whatever few years, you know, I will be able to play.”
“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.
“But if the weather doesn’t permit, we used to play football. I want to play with the same kind of innocence… (but it is) easier said than done.”
The India legend also had some advice for younger players. “For me as a cricketer, I always wanted to perform for the Indian cricket team because I’ve said that in the past also, that not everybody gets a chance to represent the country.
“For us as cricketers, whenever we went on to the big stage or whenever we were touring, there was a chance for us to win laurels for the country and so for me it was the country that always came first.
“You always need to figure out what is good for you. When I was playing, I made sure that cricket was a whole for me — nothing else mattered. What time I had to sleep? What time I had to get up? What impact it had on (my) cricket, that was the most important thing. You know, all the friendships, the fun, all those can happen later. There is a right time for everything and I felt if you are able to recognise that, that’s the best thing you can do (for yourself)”, he added.
Dhoni is regarded as the greatest-ever captain in cricket history by many fans, former players and experts. Under his leadership, India won the 2007 World T20, 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy, being the only skipper to win three different limited overs ICC trophies. He also captained India to the Asia Cup 2010 and 2016 titles, and was a member of the victorious 2018 squad.
Ahead of the IPL 2024 season, he handed over the CSK captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad, but is still the focal point when it comes to making crucial decisions during matches.
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