After speculation about MS Dhoni's involvement in the next year's Indian Premier League, it is safe to say that MS Dhoni will be a part of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and will continue to lead the franchise, even in 2022. CSK's owner and India Cements Ltd (ICL) vice-chairman, N Srinivasan said that 'There is not CSK without Dhoni.'
In fact, Srinivasan appropriated MS as a 'part and parcel' of Chennai and Tamil Nadu.
"Dhoni is part and parcel of CSK, Chennai, and Tamil Nadu. There is no CSK without Dhoni and there is no Dhoni without CSK," Srinivasan told PTI. The CSK owner said this during a brief interaction with reporters after visiting Lord Venkatachalapathy temple with the IPL trophy. He went there with his daughter.
Chennai Super Kings won their 4th IPL title this year by defeating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final. A spirited batting performance from veteran Faf du Plessis (59-ball 86), magical spells from Shardul Thakur (3/38), Josh Hazlewood (2/29) and Ravindra Jadeja (2/37) powered Chennai Super Kings to an emphatic 27-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2021 Final on Friday at Dubai International Cricket stadium.
Most of the speculations about MSD continuing with CSK were put to rest on Sunday when a CSK official confirmed that the franchise will retain MS Dhoni in the upcoming auction.
"There will be retention and that is a fact. The number of retentions isn't something we are aware of yet. But honestly, that is secondary in MS' case because the first card will be used for him," a CSK official told ANI.
"The ship needs its captain and rest assured he will be back next year," the official added.