MS Dhoni is one of five players set to be retained by Chennai Super Kings ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, along with captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube and Sri Lanka fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana.
The amounts CSK are paying to each retained player is yet to be confirmed but they will lose at least INR 65 crore from their overall purse of INR 120 crore. The five retentions will leave them with one right-to-match option at the auction.
Dhoni, 43, is likely to be retained as an uncapped player after the IPL brought back a rule that allows those who haven't played international cricket for five years to be considered in the uncapped category. He hasn't played for India since the 2019 ODI World Cup.
October 31 is the deadline by which the ten franchises have to submit their list of retained players to the IPL ahead of the mega auction. The teams have been allowed to retain up to six players ahead of the mega auction before the 2025 season, of which a maximum of five can be capped internationals and two can be uncapped players. While the IPL has set minimum deductions from the auction purse for each player retained - INR 18 crore for the first player, INR 14 crore for the second, INR 11 crore for the third, INR 18 crore for the fourth, INR 14 crore for the fifth, and INR 4 crore for an uncapped player - the franchises are free to pay more or less than those amounts to their retained players.
Dhoni had handed over the CSK captaincy to Gaikwad ahead of IPL 2024, and played a limited role with the bat even though he continued as their main wicketkeeper. He didn't bat in the first two games in 2024, and overall faced only 73 deliveries across 11 innings. Four of those innings came at No. 8, and one at No. 9. That was down to Dhoni, now past 43, managing his workload after having knee surgery in 2023.
Earlier this week, Dhoni had said that he wanted to "enjoy whatever last few years of cricket I'm able to play". He also revealed that one of the reasons why he faced so few balls last IPL was because the T20 World Cup was immediately after that, and he wanted to allow players like Dube and Jadeja "to prove themselves to get into the Indian team".