Legendary Indian cricketer and former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni unleashed a flurry of big hits in the nets ahead of his side’s Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign opener against arch-rivals Mumbai Indians (MI). CSK and MI, both five-time IPL champions, will kickstart their IPL campaign with the league’s ‘El Clasico’ match at Chepauk Stadium in Chennai on Sunday. During his nets session, a snippet of which was posted on the official IPL X handle, Dhoni was seen unleashing some heavy hits that left the net bowlers in awe. Dhoni will play in the 2025 IPL season for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), chasing his sixth title under Ruturaj Gaikwad’s leadership. Last season, his team missed on playoffs due to a poor net-run rate, finishing at fifth spot.
Our first glimpse of MS Dhoni at the MA Chidambaram Stadium ahead of the #TATAIPL 2025 season! pic.twitter.com/P1jPxnSmJI
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 21, 2025
Whether the upcoming IPL season with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will be the last for Dhoni is uncertain. But ever since he retired from international cricket in 2020, there have been speculations over when the legend will pull the curtains on a glorious IPL career, in which he has captured five trophies as a captain.
CSK retained Dhoni as an uncapped player at Rs 4 crore ahead of the 2025 season. The IPL introduced a new rule ahead of last year’s auction, allowing franchises to retain players in the uncapped category if they have not played international cricket for five years.
Since he retired from international cricket in 2020, Dhoni has only appeared in the IPL. In the 2024 season, he scored 161 runs at a strike rate of 220 and an average of 53.66 after 11 innings, staying unbeaten eight times and fulfilling the role of a finisher for the five-time champions.
Dhoni is the sixth-highest run-getter in IPL history, with 5.243 runs in 264 matches and 229 innings at an average of 39.12, a strike rate of 137.53 and 24 fifties. His best score is 84*. Other than CSK, he also played for Rising Pune Supergiant (RPG), a now-defunct franchise, from 2016-17.
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