Chennai Super Kings player M.S. Dhoni. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Former India batter Mohammad Kaif feels there is no reason why Mahendra Singh Dhoni should not play the next season of the IPL, given his form, fitness and ability to play big shots with ease.

Speculation has been rife that Dhoni, who has led CSK to five IPL titles, could have played his last IPL season.

The former CSK skipper, who had undergone surgery to treat a knee injury issue last year, scored 161 runs in 73 balls at a strike rate of 220.55 this season. He was also good behind the stumps.

Kaif thinks Dhoni has enough left in the tank to keep playing.

“Personally, I don’t think he’s done, he could not win the game (last league match against RCB). In the last over after hitting a six, he got out. You could make out seeing his body language that he seemed very disappointed not winning the game for CSK,” Kaif, a cricket expert and commentator with the official TV broadcaster of IPL 2024, Star Sports, told PTI Videos.

“Why he should not come back? He is fit, he is scoring runs and hitting sixes, and there’s no reason to stop playing… it’s up to him, we can’t say with Dhoni what’s his plan,” added Kaif, regarded as one of India’s greatest fielders.

The 43-year-old also said that Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Shreyas Iyer had been a revelation with his calm demeanour, and attributed the team’s success this year to his leadership qualities.

Two-time IPL champions KKR entered their fourth final with a thumping eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 1. They had also topped the league stage with 20 points.

“He (Iyer) missed the whole IPL last year and KKR probably missed his captaincy in 2023. The way he is changing the bowlers, and picking his playing XI, he looks very calm under pressure.

“In a tournament like the IPL, you have to be very composed, you have to know what’s happening in the game and Iyer has come a long way. He has become a much better captain now,” opined Kaif.

Experts are also attributing KKR’s success this season to Gautam Gambhir returning to the side as the team mentor but Kaif said the team’s superb run had got a lot to do with how Iyer marshals his boys on the field.

“We always talk about (Gautam) Gambhir, but he can’t enter the field… in the rope with the players. Iyer has been there with the players and it will help him grow as a person and player.

“He missed out on the (T20) World Cup this year (beginning in the US and West Indies next month), but certainly it’s great learning for him, captaining the team, leading it to the finals. He has a great future ahead,” said Kaif.

Kaif said KKR were the overwhelming favourites to lift the IPL trophy this season given that they have quality bowlers and a balanced side, the two ingredients required to win.

“I think KKR is a very well-balanced side. Tournament-winning team has to have good bowlers, KKR has got the bowlers. You saw how (Mitchell) Starc bowled against (SRH in Qualifier 1), it’s a balanced side. KKR has got all bases covered in terms of batting and bowling. They are the team to beat in IPL, they are way ahead.”

Chennai Super Kings player M.S. Dhoni. File
| Photo Credit: K. Bhagya Prakash

Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan said he is ‘very, very hopeful’ of former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni participating in IPL 2025 as a player.

Dhoni, who led CSK to a record five Indian Premier League titles, stepped down as the skipper before the start of the ongoing season, handing the responsibilities to Ruturaj Gaikwad, who led the team to a fifth place finish.

Speculations have been rife that this could be Dhoni’s final season in the tournament but Viswanathan asserted that it was completely up to the former India captain to take a final call on his future.

“I do not know. It is a question which only MS can answer. The question for us, we have always respected the decisions taken by MS. We have left it to him,” he said to a question on CSK’s YouTube channel.

“As all of you know, he has always taken his decisions and announced them at the appropriate time. We do expect that we will get a decision as and when he decides.

“But we are very, very hopeful that he will be available for CSK the next year. That is the view and expectations of the fans and mine.” Dhoni, who had underwent surgery to treat a knee injury issue last year, scored 161 runs in 73 balls at a strike rate of 220.55 this season. He was also good behind the stumps.

A mega IPL auction has been scheduled later in the year and if Dhoni continues, CSK will undoubtedly be retaining him.

However, the number of players allowed to be retained still needs clarity.

Viswanathan said that discussions are yet to take place on the same with the BCCI.

“It is too early because we have still not heard from BCCI on the kind of retentions which are going to be part of the next cycle of auction.

“So we are expecting that the BCCI would discuss with all franchise owners before they take a decision on retention.”

M.S. Dhoni is seen during the IPL match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit: K. Bhagya Prakash

Nearing 43, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s six-hitting ability and fitness remains as good as anyone and the former India skipper says he has no option but to keep working hard and stay fit since “nobody gives you a discount for age”.

Dhoni, who handed Chennai Super Kings’ captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad at the start of the 2024 IPL season, played all 14 league stage games, batted way down the order and yet made a huge impact.

The World Cup-winning captain scored 161 runs at an incredible strike rate of 220.55, forcing many to believe that he can play for two more years in the IPL.

The iconic cricketer admitted that it is tough for him to perform after he comes straight to the IPL without playing any cricket prior to the league.

“The toughest thing is, I am not playing cricket throughout the year. So I have to be fit. Once I come, you are competing against youngsters who are fit and playing international cricket. Professional sport is not easy, nobody gives you a discount for age,” Dhoni said in a video that is doing the rounds on social media.

“If you want to play, you have to be as fit as the other guy. Age does not really give that grace to you. So, eating habits, a bit of training and all those things are there. Social media, thankfully, I am not on social media, so there’s less distraction,” Dhoni said in the video posted by Dubai Eye 103.8 YouTube channel.

For the legendary cricketer from Jharkhand, things like farming, riding bikes and vintage cars work as stress buster for him.

“Once I quit international cricket, I wanted to spend a bit more time with my family. But, at that same time, to be mentally active, to have that passion to stay focussed — for me, I love farming, for me it is the motorbikes, I have started getting into vintage cars.

“These things de-stress me. If am stressed, I would maybe go to the garage, spend a couple of hours over there and I will just be fine, I would come back,” he said.

“I have always felt growing up with a pet, whether it is a cat or a dog… I prefer dogs though. They have unconditional love towards you. I have said this in a previous interview, even if I lose a game and come back, my dog greets me the same way.” He has been a much admired leader at CSK and Dhoni said that “we need to earn that respect of the people you’re leading”.

“You cannot command or demand respect. You need to earn it. I may have a position in an institution, and yes, that position needs to be respected. But me as an individual sitting on the chair, I need to earn that respect.

“I cannot just say ‘respect me’! If you have the respect of the people around you, they give 10 to 15 percent more.

“India is slightly different. People talk about being professional. Yes, we Indians are professional, but our emotional connect is stronger. I feel as an Indian, my strength is the emotional connect. My connection with CSK is an emotional connect.

“It’s not just a player who comes and plays for a couple of months and then goes back home.” While he is not a big fan of social media, Dhoni would prefer Instagram over X to avoid controversy.

“I prefer Instagram over Twitter (X). I believe that nothing good has happened over Twitter, you know, especially in India, there’s always a controversy. Somebody will write something and it turns into a controversy.

“I was like why do I need to be there? It used to be 140 characters. You cannot elaborate. Imagine me putting something over there and then it is left to the people to read it. And they just interpret what they want to interpret.

“So I’m like, no, no, that’s not really for me. Instagram, still I like because I could put up my picture or video or something and just leave it. That is also changing now. So I still prefer Instagram, but I’m not very active because less distractions are better.”

Rain clouds hover around the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, during training ahead of the IPL 2024 match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), in Bengaluru on May 17, 2024
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

Bengaluru’s weather is so notoriously fickle that its tantrums have acquired cult status. On May 18, the city faithful will be praying that it behaves, for a washout against Chennai Super Kings will send their beloved Royal Challengers Bengaluru out.

There is indeed an inglorious tradition of rain affecting at least one RCB home game in an IPL season. An unrelenting summer has ensured that RCB has dodged the bullet six times in the 2024 edition.

However, Saturday’s forecast is for good amounts of precipitation, and it seems like luck may have finally run out.

Scope for hope

There is, of course, the state-of-the-art SubAir drainage system that can get the ground ready in no time. And if the skies relent for two hours, a five-over match is eminently possible. But would five overs do justice to a clash that will be one of the last times Virat Kohli and M.S. Dhoni face-off?

Another variable is the pitch. This season, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium has been far from the batting paradise it usually is; only twice has the 200-run mark been breached in 12 innings (RCB vs. SRH). But the last time CSK and RCB met in Bengaluru, 444 runs were scored. A repeat is in the hands of the weather gods.

Lucknow Super Giants captain K.L. Rahul with his Chennai Super Kings counterpart Ruturaj Gaikwad.
| Photo Credit: AP

hennai Super Kings will look to regain some momentum in what has been a start-stop campaign when it takes on Lucknow Super Giants in the reverse fixture at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on April 23. The two sides met three days back in Lucknow, where LSG easily prevailed by eight wickets.

Super Kings enters a crucial phase of the tournament with three matches at home over the next eight days, which could determine the chance of making the playoffs. CSK has won all three games in its backyard this year and will want to continue that form to add to its four wins.

However, the defending champion has some big headaches to solve, mainly around its struggles in the PowerPlay with both bat and ball.

Runs have dried up for key top-order batters like Rachin Ravindra and Ajinkya Rahane, and the batting relies heavily on Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shivam Dube. The skipper demoted himself to the number three in the last two matches, and it will be interesting to see if he goes back to open. Similarly, the pacers’ inability to give early breakthroughs will be an area the team needs to address.

Meanwhile, Super Giants had some positives from the previous match. The bowlers set the game up before skipper K.L. Rahul led from the front with a quick-fire half-century alongside Quinton de Kock.

The presence of spinners Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, and M. Siddharth gives the visitors depth in their squad for the conditions in Chepauk as they look to do the double against the five-time champion.

Squads:

Chennai Super Kings: Rachin Ravindra, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Sameer Rizvi, MS Dhoni (wk), Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman, Matheesha Pathirana, Nishant Sindhu, Moeen Ali, Mitchell Santner, Shaik Rasheed, Aravelly Avanish, Maheesh Theekshana, RS Hangargekar, Simarjeet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary, Prashant Solanki, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Richard Gleeson and Deepak Chahar.

Lucknow Super Giants: Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul (c & wk), Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Shamar Joseph, Yash Thakur, Manimaran Siddharth, Prerak Mankad, Arshad Khan, Krishnappa Gowtham, Amit Mishra, Kyle Mayers, Ashton Turner, Matt Henry, Naveen-ul-Haq, Devdutt Padikkal, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Mayank Yadav and Arshin Kulkarni.

Match start time: 7.30 PM (IST).

Chennai Super Kings M.S. Dhoni plays a shot during the Indian Premier League 2024 match against Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow on April 19, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena

The fans are clamouring for MS Dhoni to move up the batting order. In an ideal world, the team management would also like it that way, and Brian Lara too feels the talisman should be asked, “would you like to bat higher?” But the West Indies great knows that the 42-year-old, whose ability to bat for extended periods has been restricted by a chronic knee problem, “won’t” consider a promotion in the batting order.

Besides the knee issue, Dhoni is also at a stage where he is looking to give the youngsters a chance to prove their mettle.

“It’s just brilliant. The question has to be asked would you like to bat higher? Because I can see he’s making valuable contributions. But there are a couple of losing causes as well. So, I think that should be a consideration,” Lara told Star Sports.

The Chennai Super Kings legend gave his team the much-needed impetus with a nine-ball 28 against Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow on April 19, one of the few entertaining cameos he has played this IPL season. CSK, though, lost the game by eight wickets after being stopped at 176/6.

Lara added, “At 42, he’s most likely thinking from the teams point of view, that the young guys got to do the job. But I think the middle of the innings told a little bit too much about CSK batting. And it created the fact that even though he exploded at the end and he did that Dhoni thing at the end and it still was not enough.

“So, I think they will have to go back to the drawing room. And realise that they need to be a little bit more aggressive throughout the innings. Because at the back end, you’ve got the man to come.

“And if he gets two three overs, as he did against Mumbai Indians. And propelled them above 200. They need to think about that all the time.” Against LSG, Dhoni slammed a four and a six off Mohsin Khan before smashing Yash Thakur for another maximum. He finished the innings with two more fours as 19 came off the last over.

Lara shared his thoughts on moments when Dhoni comes out to bat and the loud cheers it generates across venues.

“That’s the terrific part of the game. I’ve said it over and over again, when you have a guy aged 42, a legend, an icon in the game, someone who has played in the IPL for so many years and you don’t know when he’s going to say, hey, that’s it.

“He comes out to bat and I think it’s just a moment to savour and everyone is just going to feel amazing about this. It’s going to be a lot of emotions, but then he walks out and does the business,” Lara said.

“He may not have to look and say, ‘listen, I may have to go up the order because I may need a little bit more runs’. He has batted five, six times now and remained unbeaten. So, any team strategising would say, ‘well, obviously you have to go up’. But I don’t think he will.” CSK head coach Stephen Fleming had earlier claimed that the team isn’t surprised by what the former skipper has done with the bat this season, saying his skill level during pre-season was very high.

When the discussion turned to Dhoni’s fitness and running between the wickets, Lara said, “He’s still doing it today and let’s make sure that he’s on the park for all the matches in this IPL for CSK.

“But yeah, running between the wickets where he is aware of the situation and aware of that the matchup for him is just the correct matchup.

“And it just looked like when you look at the counter, there’s two umpires, 11 fielders, and a bowler, and then there’s these fans, and they all just look like spectators when he’s striking the ball.

“Fielders diving to his left, he can’t get it, fielders looking his head, he can’t get it. It’s just his show. He’s just scripted it so well.”

Chennai Super Kings Sameer Rizvi in action during his knock against Gujarat Titans in Chennai on March 26, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI

First impression is the best impression and Chennai Super Kings batter Sameer Rizvi definitely made one. The youngster announced his arrival on the big stage in style when he slog-swept Rashid Khan for a six off the first ball he faced in the IPL against Gujarat Titans on March 26.

Two balls later, he lofted the Afghan leggie for another six down the ground, showing why CSK shelled out ₹8.4 crore for the Uttar Pradesh batter.

“When Rashid came to bowl in the 19th over, the coach told me if the wicket falls you will go out to bat.

“After that, it was set in my mind that if they are sending me at this point in the match, anyone who walks in will be expected to smash boundaries,” said Rizvi about his first innings in IPL during a select media interaction on Thursday.

“So, only one thing was going on in my head — I have to go out and hit it big — I was clear about that.”

Though Rizvi made his debut in the season opener against RCB, he got to bat only in the second game and felt it helped ease his nerves. “I was a little nervous in the first match when I was fielding, but I never got to bat. In the second match, I think I got used to the crowd and that’s why I wasn’t nervous and did not feel the pressure.”

For a side known to prefer experienced players over young guns, Rizvi’s selection at a high price showed Super Kings’s faith in his abilities.

Unfazed

But, the 20-year-old from Meerut is unfazed about his price tag and said he is living his dream of meeting and playing with M.S. Dhoni. “There’s no pressure (of the price tag). It’s about how I perform and score. M.S. bhaiya gave me a few tips on handling pressure and playing in front of the crowd. He told me to play my natural game and to focus on performance as the price tag is different for everyone.”

Like most Indian venues, Chepauk is used to the chants of ‘Sachin, Sachin’ while cheering the nation’s most celebrated cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar, in his playing days.

Figuring in only his second IPL match, Rachin Ravindra found a way into the hearts of the city’s passionate fans, who quickly belted out ‘Rachin, Rachin’ as the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener produced another impressive cameo that laid the foundation for the defending champion’s thumping 63-run win over Gujarat Titans at the MAC Stadium on Tuesday.

His rapid 46 (20b, 6×4, 3×6), followed by fellow-southpaw Shivam Dube’s 23-ball 51 (2×4, 5×6), powered CSK to 206 for six after being asked to bat.

Early setback

The Titans’ batters never looked like chasing it down after Deepak Chahar removed openers Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha inside the PowerPlay. B. Sai Sudharsan and David Miller tried to forge a fightback, adding 41 runs for the fourth wicket, but the former struggled to get the big shots going as the CSK pacers kept a tight leash on proceedings.

Surprisingly, the home team used only one spinner — Ravindra Jadeja — with pacer Matheesha Pathirana playing in the second half as an ‘Impact Player’ in place of Dube. Once Tushar Deshpande accounted for David Miller and Azmatullah Omarzai, both caught in the deep, the writing was on the wall for the visitors.

Earlier, Ravindra smashed Titans’ pacers Umesh Yadav and Omarzai all over the park with the typical elegance associated with left-handers. He started by flicking Umesh off his hips for a six, over square leg, to signal his intentions, and from there on, was pretty much unstoppable.

The 24-year-old played some delectable shots, with clean hits down the ground and when the bowlers pitched short, he pulled them into the stands with disdain.

Then, Dube, the Super Kings’ designated batter to take on spinners, played his role to perfection, lofting R. Sai Kishore for consecutive sixes off the first two balls he faced before dispatching Rashid into the crowd by getting down on his knee and using his long reach to telling effect.

Sameer Rizvi gave the Chennai innings the final flourish as he swept Rashid, who got a pounding on the day, for a six off the first ball he faced before launching him over long-off to take the host past 200, a score well beyond Gujarat’s reach.

The teams

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Sameer Rizvi, MS Dhoni (wk), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman. Substitutes: Matheesha Pathirana, Shardul Thakur, Shaik Rasheed, Nishant Sindhu, Mitchell Santner

Gujarat Titans; Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill (capt), Azmatullah Omarzai, David Miller, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, R Sai Kishore, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Spencer Johnson. Substitutes: Sai Sudharsan, BR Sharath, Abhinav Manohar, Manav Suthar, Noor Ahmad.

Scoreboard

Chennai Super Kings

Ruturaj Gaikwad c Saha b Johnson 46 (36b, 5×4, 1×6), Rachin Ravindra st. Saha b Rashid 46 (20b, 6×4, 3×6), Ajinkya Rahane st. Saha b Sai Kishore 12 (12b), Shivam Dube c Vijay Shankar b Rashid 51 (23b, 2×4, 5×6), Daryl Mitchell (not out) 24 (20b, 2×4), Sameer Rizvi c Miller b Mohit 14 (6b, 2×6), Ravindra Jadeja run out 7 (3b, 1×4); Extras (lb-1, w-5): 6; Total (for six wkts. in 20 overs): 206.

Fall of Wickets

1-62 (Ravindra, 5.2 overs), 2-104 (Rahane, 10.1), 3-127 (Ruturaj, 12.3), 4-184 (Dube, 18.2), 5-199 (Rizvi, 19.3), 6-206 (Jadeja, 19.6).

Titans Bowling

Omarzai 3-0-30-0, Umesh 2-0-27-0, Rashid 4-0-49-2, Sai Kishore 3-0-28-1, Johnson 4-0-35-1, Mohit 4-0-36-1.

Gujarat Titans

Wriddhiman Saha c Deshpande b Deepak Chahar 21 (17b, 4×4), Shubman Gill lbw b Deepak Chahar 8 (5b, 1×6), Sai Sudharsan (Impact Player in place of Mohit) c Rizvi b Pathirana 37 (31b, 3×4), Vijay Shankar c Dhoni b Mitchell 12 (12b, 1×6), David Miller c Rahane b Deshpande 21 (16b, 3×4), Azmatullah Omarzai c Ravindra b Deshpande 11 (10b, 1×4), Rahul Tewatia c Ravindra b Mustafizur 6 (11b, 1×4), Rashid Khan c Ravindra b Mustafizur 1 (2b), Umesh Yadav (not out) 10 (11b, 1×6), Spencer Johnson (not out) 5 (5b, 1×4); Extras (lb-2, w-9): 11; Total (for eight wkts. in 20 overs): 143.

Fall of Wickets

1-28 (Gill, 2.5), 2-34 (Saha, 4.3), 3-55 (Vijay Shankar, 7.3), 4-96 (Miller, 11.5), 5-114 (Sai Sudharsan, 14.5), 6-118 (Omarzai, 15.2), 7-121 (Rashid, 16.2), 8-129 (Tewatia, 18.2).

Super Kings Bowling

Deepak Chahar 4-0-28-2, Mustafizur 4-0-30-2, Deshpande 4-0-21-2, Jadeja 2-0-15-0, Mitchell 2-0-18-1, Pathirana (Impact Player in place of Dube) 4-0-29-1.

Toss: Titans; PoM: Dube.

CSK won by 63 runs.

Chennai Super Kings’ Mustafizur Rahman in action during Indian Premier League 2024 match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Chennai on March 22, 2024.
| Photo Credit: M. Vedhan

Ruturaj Gaikwad couldn’t have asked for a better start as captain of Chennai Super Kings as his side began its title defence in style with a comfortable six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the opening game of IPL-17 at MAC Stadium on Friday.

Chasing 174, CSK powered through to the target, riding on a series of cameos from its batters. Opener Rachin Ravindra set the ball rolling by blasting a quickfire 37 (15b, 3×4, 3×6) before Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, and Ravindra Jadeja chipped in with valuable contributions.

CSK vs RCB Live Score, IPL 2024

Aggressive approach

Though no batter made a half-century, the team’s aggressive approach of looking for boundaries paid off.

Ravindra got Super Kings off to a flyer, smashing the pacers all over the park with some clean hitting. Rahane and Mitchell then kept the tempo up, hitting two sixes each before Cameron Green accounted for the duo in his successive overs to give RCB a sniff of a chance.

But Dube (34 n.o., 28b, 4×4, 1×6) and Jadeja (25 n.o., 17b, 1×6) ensured the Men in Yellow stepped into the post-Dhoni captaincy era on the right note stitching an unbroken 66-run stand for the fifth wicket to take their side to victory.

Earlier in the evening, Mustafizur Rahman (four for 29) set it up for the home team with a crafty spell in his first game for CSK.

Mustafizur broke the back of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s batting to have the visitors in deep trouble at 78 for five. Electing to bat, skipper Faf du Plessis (35, 23b, 8×4) got his side off to a strong start.

But in the fifth over, Mustafizur pulled things back with a twin strike, removing du Plessis caught at deep-point before having Rajat Patidar caught behind.

The left-arm pacer struck twice again to dismiss Virat Kohli and Cameron Green in the space of two balls. A late flourish from Anuj Rawat (48, 25b, 4×6, 3×6) and Dinesh Karthik (38 n.o., 3×4, 2×6) allowed RCB to post a fighting total of 173 for six.

However, it was not enough against the defending champion’s batting firepower.