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Chennai Super Kings retained MS Dhoni ahead of IPL 2025 auction, with the franchise once again reposing faith in the abilities of the former India skipper.
IPL 2025: Age No Bar! Level Needs To Be Same For All IPL Players, Says MS Dhoni (Picture credit: IPL)
Former India skipper MS Dhoni, who was retained as an uncapped player by the Chennai Super Kings ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction as per the tournament’s latest rules, has said that nobody cares how old one is and the performance level is expected to be the same for all players in the cash-rich league.
Chennai retained Dhoni ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, with the team once again reposing faith in the abilities of the former India skipper, who has led the side to a record five IPL titles.
But having retired from international cricket five years ago, Dhoni admitted that it takes immense hard work to be fit and ready for two months of the Indian Premier League.
“I only play a couple of months in a year, but I want to enjoy it the way I started playing, that’s something that keeps me going,” Dhoni said while speaking at an event in Mumbai on Friday.
“But, of course, for that, I need to put in a lot of hard work for six to eight months because IPL is one of the toughest tournaments. Nobody cares about how old you are. If you’re playing at this level, the level needs to be the same,” Dhoni added.
Dhoni relinquished captaincy duties completely last year and handed over the reins to Ruturaj Gaikwad, under whom the team finished fifth in IPL 2024, missing out on the playoffs marginally.
Dhoni said that playing for India was his biggest motivation in his career coming from a state, which is not known for cricket.
“When I started playing international cricket, for me the biggest motivation was representing my country,” Dhoni said.
“It has always been the country for me because coming from where I came, not known for cricket as a state, once I got a chance I wanted to contribute, I wanted to be part of a winning team that was trying to win every game, you’re trying to win the big tournaments, the bilateral series,” Dhoni added.
The former India skipper will be seen in action when Chennai take on the Mumbai Indians in the second match of IPL 2025 at Chepauk on Sunday, March 23 in an evening game.
