After leading Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to their record-equalling fifth IPL title, captain MS Dhoni has left the door open for his participation in the upcoming season, dismissing speculations about his retirement.
Under Dhoni's leadership, CSK secured a dramatic victory in the rain-affected final, where they chased a revised target of 171 in 15 overs against Gujarat Titans. Ravindra Jadeja's heroics in the final over sealed the win for CSK.
During the post-match presentation, when asked about his future plans, Dhoni responded, "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 9 months and come back and play at least 1 more season of IPL."
Dhoni acknowledged the emotional impact of the support he received from the crowd, particularly during the inaugural match of the 2023 Indian Premier League. Reflecting on the experience, he said, "You do get emotional simply because it's the last part of my career... My eyes were full of water and I just stood there in the dugout for a while. It was the same thing in Chennai; it was my last game over there but it will be good to come back and play whatever I can."
Having already played in 250 IPL matches, Dhoni achieved a significant milestone in his career. He has also captained CSK in 10 IPL finals, emerging victorious in five of them. Additionally, Dhoni participated in the IPL final in 2017 while representing the Rising Pune Supergiants.