While there were a lot of reports suggesting Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 could be MS Dhoni's final year as a player in the cash-rich league, the man himself has not made any such official announcement. And now after Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) registered a thrilling 5-wicket at the Narendra Modi Stadium when the clock showed past 1'o clock in the morning on Tuesday (May 30), he once again hinted that he could be back for yet another season of the T20 tournament.
His remark came after CSK clinched their fifth IPL with Dhoni becoming the captain with the most number of IPL titles to his name along side Rohit Sharma. CSK were given a revised target of 171 in 15 overs after rain had arrived early in their run chase, a target which they got to off the final ball.
"Circumstantially, if you see, this is the best time to announce my retirement. But the amount of love and affection I have been shown wherever I have been this year, the easy thing would be for me to say 'Thank you very much', but the tough thing for me is to work hard for another nine months and come back and play at least one more season of IPL," Dhoni said while talking to Harsha Bhogle at the post match presentation.
"A lot depends on the body. I have six-seven months to decide. It will be more like a gift from my side; it's not easy for me, but that's a gift. The way they've shown their love and affection, I think that's something I need to do for them," he added.
Talking about the IPL 2023 final, while Gujarat Titans (GT) posted a mammoth 214/4 in their 20 overs riding on Sai Sudharsan's 96 off 47, CSK got to their revised target off the last ball with the help of contributions from Devon Conway (47), Shivam Dube (32*), Ajinkya Rahane (27), Ruturaj Gaikwad (26) and a decisive 15 off 6 from Ravindra Jadeja including a last-ball four.