Every time MS Dhoni plays an Indian Premier League (IPL) season, there is always a talk about this being his last season for his beloved franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The retirement questions keep swirling to the the 42-year-old as lightning fast as his stumping. Before CSK's  first match against Mumbai Indians (MI), the news of the wicketkeeper-batter calling it quits yet again started doing the rounds.
However, Dhoni shut all those talks in his true unfiltered style. The legendary batter has represented CSK for 16 years and has won five titles for the side - joint highest in IPL history. Dhoni has still got all the power and is seeing the ball behind the stumps as a hawk. For the fans waiting for the former CSK skipper to retire, there is bad news in store as he said he could play for CSK as long as he wanted.
"I can play for as long as I want for CSK. That's my franchise. Even if I'm in a wheelchair, they'll drag me," he said in a chat on JioHotstar ahead of the clash against Mumbai Indians.
Ruturaj Gaikwad lavishes praise on MS Dhoni
CSK skipper Gaikwad shed light into Dhoni's outstanding ability to keep contributing for the team despite being 43 years of age. While the former CSK captain did not make an impact with bat in hand for CSK against MI, the CSK star made his presence felt behind the stumps by his lightning fast stumping of 0.12 seconds to dismiss Suryakumar Yadav.
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However, despite smashing the ball from ball one, Gaikwad is very clear on where Dhoni will bat for CSK - lower-order, probably at No. 7 or 8 spots.
“A lot of new players have joined the team and sometimes they struggle to strike the ball as good as he is striking it right now. So, definitely, it inspires a lot of us including myself,” Gaikwad told the media on the eve of CSK's opening IPL match against arch-rivals Mumbai Indians. “So, whatever he is doing at the age of 43, I think it is remarkable. We have certain strengths that we have been following for the last two years. So, I think nothing much really changes and hopefully, he will continue to deliver those crucial knocks for us,” he added.
CSK beat MI in their opening match of IPL 2025 season by four wickets. Fifties by Rachin Ravindra (65), and Gaikwad (53), enabled a smooth run chase of 156.
