MS Dhoni Set To Return As Chennai Super Kings Skipper For IPL 2024, CSK CEO Gives BIG Update

CSK captain MS Dhoni underwent a knee surgery in Mumbai, immediately after the IPL 2023 final.

Photo: ANI

Mahendra Singh Dhoni will turn 42 on July 7 next month and that’s the age he will be when he comes for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season next year. Dhoni led CSK to a record-equalling fifth title in the IPL 2023 season at the age of 41 with a dodgy knee but in what is great news for his fans, he is all set to lead the side for one more season in the Indian Premier League.

The CSK captain underwent a knee surgery in Mumbai immediately after the IPL 2023 final last month. He is currently recovering at home in Ranchi and is unlikely to hit cricket field for the next three or four months.

CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan revealed that Dhoni had informed the team about his surgery immediately after the final. “Actually, he told us immediately after the final is over, he'll fly to Mumbai, have surgery and go back to Ranchi for rehab. In Mumbai, after Ruturaj’s wedding (on June 4), I visited him. It was a courtesy call. He’s quite comfortable. He said he’ll rest for three weeks and then start his rehab. And like he said, he’s not going to play until January-February. We don’t need to remind him about all that,” Viswanathan told ESPNCricinfo website.

Having announced his retirement from international cricket in August of 2020, IPL is the only tournament Dhoni plays, and the longer you are away from cricket, it makes returning to action that much more difficult. This year too, the first visuals of Dhoni hitting the nets emerged in January, two months before IPL 2023.

“He knows what to do, how to go about it, so we aren’t going to ask him ‘what are you going to do, how’ etc. He will inform us on his own. Whatever he’s doing, he’ll call first and inform only Mr N Srinivasan, not anyone else. Factually, he’ll be straightforward with him. From him, we’ll get the information that this is what he’s doing. It’s been this way since 2008. That’s how it will continue,” Viswanathan added.

Earlier, after the IPL 2023 final, Dhoni had made his intention to continue for one more season to commentator Harsha Bhogle in the post-match presentation.

“Circumstantially if you see, this is the best time to announce my retirement…but the amount of love and affection I have been shown wherever I have been this year, the easy thing would be for me to say ‘Thank you very much’, but the tough thing for me is to work hard for another 9 months and come back and play at least 1 more season of IPL,” Dhoni had said.

The interaction you were waiting for _

MS Dhoni has got everyone delighted with his response _ #TATAIPL | #Final | #CSKvGT | @msdhoni pic.twitter.com/vEX5I88PGK — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 29, 2023

The CSK skipper is expected to keep a low profile until the IPL 2024 auction towards the end of the year around December. Recently he was seen driving a Mini Cooper on the streets of Ranchi after ditching his bike.