More is Merrier for Dhoni

An exemplary leader & a man with safe gloves cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni may play two more IPL seasons for CSK

Mahendra Singh Dhoni. This name evokes joy and pride in the hearts of every cricket-lover across the country. And more so for every sports-buff in Chennai for he is the pet boy of the town. As Chennai Super King skipper, since the inception of Indian Premier League, the premier T20 tournament, he has led his franchise to lift the title thrice.

Ready, steady, go

The veteran cricketer may have hung his boot in international cricket, but his days in yellow jersey are still not over and the franchise and its CEO Kasi Viswathan sees the captain & the legend, playing for another year or two. After the 2019 World Cup in England and his infamous run out that cost Team India the semifinals against New Zealand, Dhoni was out of international cricket. He chose to hang his boots on 15 August, 2020.

And everyone thought, 2020 IPL would be his last too. Add to it, the CSK-led by Dhoni in 2020 IPL played miserably finishing almost at the bottom of the table. Interestingly, Dhoni was back in 2021 edition, scripted CSK's turnaround in interrupted edition where the franchise won 5 out of the seven games they played. Expectations are high when they continue from where they left in Dubai this September.

He is 40 & still going strong

Dhoni may have turned 40 recently. But he is really fit, ready and raring to go. Kasi Viswanathan said, 'He (Dhoni) can continue for another one or two years with CSK. He is fully fit, trains a lot. Don't see any reason why he should stop.'

'We are happy for what he is doing for CSK. It is not just about his captaincy or the fact that he is guide or a leader as the most experienced player. We feel he is still good and brings value as a player to the side. He has been a finisher and is doing that for us,' added Viswanathan.

He leads from the front

A thinking cricketer, Dhoni's prowess with bat may have gone a little down. He has also been struggling with the bat and has managed to score just 37 runs from from innings at an average of 12.33 this year. But an experienced captain, he understood the situation and chose to send the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Moeen Ali ahead of him to bat and it yielded right results. His onfield tactics are producing wins. His work behind the stumps is getting sharper and sharper.

Trim & fit

Dhoni was recently spotted in Mumbai. And, from his appearance, it was evident that Dhoni has worked on his fitness, and had lost considerable amount of weight. No doubt, he is in excellent shape for the second half of the 14th edition of the IPL.

A fitter Dhoni is a threat to the opposition and if the skipper decides, he could up himself in the batting order and attack away.

Will do it for MS

Dhoni commands great respect and love in CSK. It is evident from the words of his teammate and swashbuckling batter Suresh Raina. Raina said that he wants his team to win the trophy for Dhoni this year.

'Hopefully, when we go to Dubai, we will have a camp and we can again win it for him. I think the way we were playing this year, we were having some extra confidence from his captaincy and he was enjoying each other's success. He was giving freedom to all the players and having Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo and Ruturaj in the side, we had the momentum. Hopefully, we can do it again this year for MS,' Raina said

Tall achievement

Dhoni is one of the greatest Indian captains of all time, and has led the Indian side to the 2007 T20 World Cup title, the 2011 fifty over World Cup title, as well as the Champions Trophy title in the year 2013 as well.The 40-year-old has played 350 ODI matches, and has scored 10773 runs at an average in excess of 50. Dhoni has also played 98 T20Is, and has plundered 1617 runs at an average of 37.60 for India.