“The amount of love I have received from CSK fans, it would be a gift from me, to play one more season,” MS Dhoni

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MS Dhoni says It [the season] started over here [in Ahmedabad] and the full house was chanting my name and it was my same thing in Chennai, but it will be good to come back and play whatever I can

Mahendra Singh Dhoni answered the most awaited question of the IPL season on his future in the competition but without quite answering it one way or another in the affirmative, the soon-to-be Dhoni acknowledged that it was best time to leave, but he thought he could try to give something back to his devoted fans by staying on for another season.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni answered the most awaited question of the IPL season on his future in the competition but without quite answering it one way or another in the affirmative. The soon-to-be 42-year-old CSK skipper acknowledged that it was best time to leave, but he thought he could try to give something back to his devoted fans by staying on for another season.

“The easy thing for me to say is thank you and retire,”

Dhoni said at the presentation ceremony.

“But the hard thing to do is to work hard for nine months and try to play one more IPL season. The body has to hold up. But the amount of love I have received from CSK fans, it would be a gift from me, to play one more season. The way they’ve shown their love and emotion, it’s something I need to do for them.”

“It [the season] started over here [in Ahmedabad] and the full house was chanting my name. It was my same thing in Chennai, but it will be good to come back and play whatever I can,”

Dhoni added.

A nationwide display of support for the CSK captain was triggered by the IPL’s return to venues all around the country for the first time since 2019 and the expectation that Dhoni was about to play his final match. 

As Dhoni guided CSK to yet another playoff round and ultimately the championship, there were more yellow fans in almost every stadium. The long-awaited reunion of the CSK captain and the Chepauk faithful saw adulation for him hit fever pitch in Chennai – a phenomenon that even moved the otherwise poker-faced Dhoni to tears.

“You do get emotional, the first game at CSK everyone was chanting my name. My eyes were full of water, I needed to take some time off in the dugout,”

Dhoni revealed.

“I realized I need to enjoy this. I think they love me for what I am, they love that I am so grounded, I don’t try to portray something I’m not.”

CSK entered the season dealing with the absence of a few key bowlers. Mukesh Choudhary and Simarjeet Singh, the two bright spots of another otherwise underwhelming campaign of IPL 2022 were sidelined; Dhoni was forced to play with more inexperience with the ball. 

CSK ended up having a season in which they batted deep and with a lot of intent as they went about making big scores and out batting the opposition in most cases. The final too, was one such a fixture.

“There were lapses today, the bowling department didn’t work, but it was the batting department that took the pressure off them today,”

Dhoni said.

While Dhoni’s farewell match is still ongoing, one other CSK player confirmed his exit on May 29 and signed out in spectacular style on May 30. 

Ambati Rayudu, who has now won six IPL championships (including the ones he won with MI), made a brilliant cameo (19 off 8 balls) where he took apart Mohit Sharma’s change of pace and helped CSK get back on track in the chase before Ravindra Jadeja put the game away.

“The special thing about Rayudu is he will always give his 100% when he is on his field,”

“But with him in the team, I will never win the fair play award. I’ve been playing with him for a long time, since the India A tours. He’s a player who can play spin and pace equally well. It is something really special. I felt he would do something really special today.”

While Rayudu walks away having played 204 IPL matches across 14 seasons, Dhoni remains 250 not out…for now.

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