If five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) want, they can retain their former captain and talisman MS Dhoni as an uncapped player.
This is because the IPL has decided to bring back a rule that it had started in 2008, allowing Indian players who had retired from international cricket at least five years before the relevant season to go into the auction as uncapped players. The rule was scrapped in 2021. However, during the broader discussion on uncapped players, the IPL informed the franchises that it was reviving the rule.
In the document listing the retention rules shared with franchises, the IPL said this rule would only be applicable for Indians: "A capped Indian player will become uncapped if he has in the five calendar years preceding the year in which the relevant season is held, not played in the starting XI in international cricket or does not have a central contract with BCCI. This will be applicable for Indian players only."
Ahead of the 2022 mega auction, Dhoni was retained as the second player by CSK for INR 12 crore. Dhoni, who turned 43 in July, has only played in the IPL since retiring in 2020. In case CSK now decide to retain him as an uncapped player, Dhoni would be paid INR 4 crore.
The question of whether Dhoni will continue to play IPL cricket - the only tournament he plays - or not has been doing the rounds the last few seasons. After undergoing knee surgery in 2023, he handed over the CSK captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of IPL 2024 and played a limited role with the bat, coming in late in the innings as a boundary-hitter. More recently, at an event, Dhoni said he and CSK would wait for the player retention rules to be finalised before taking a decision on his future as a player.