Amid the madness of the Indian Premier League (IPL) retentions, Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) MS Dhoni spent an evening celebrating Diwali. Cricket entered the festivities on Thursday, October 31 and MS Dhoni was at the center of the retention saga. However, the former India and CSK captain was captured while celebrating Diwali and attending a religious ceremony surrounded by family, relatives and friends. Meanwhile, he was also announced as one of CSK's five retainers ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, retaining him as the 'uncapped' player for Rs 4 crore.
Watch: MS Dhoni celebrates Diwali on IPL retention day
MS DHONI CELEBRATES DIWALI
– Video of the day….!!!! pic.twitter.com/C2zH7PbhK3
– Johannes. (@CricCrazyJohns) November 1, 2024
Prior to IPL 2025, players who have not played an international match or have been centrally contracted with the BCCI for five years or more were allowed to be retained as 'uncapped' players. This worked in favor of CSK, who were able to keep the 43-year-old Dhoni at the end of his career without paying a hefty sum.
Dhoni quashed all rumors surrounding his retirement when he revealed before the auction that he planned to enjoy the “last few years” of his career, suggesting he still had cricket in him.
Chennai Super Kings showed immense faith in Ruturaj Gaikwad, who took over the captaincy from Dhoni. Gaikwad was retained for Rs 18 crore.
The same retention fee was paid to keep Ravindra Jadeja at the franchise, with CSK choosing to retain their old servant.
Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana and Indian middle-order powerhitter Shivam Dube were also retained by CSK.
As a result, CSK retained four players as limited and one as unlimited, leaving them with one Right to Match (RTM) card to use at the auction. Players like Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande and Sameer Rizvi are some of the players who could be considered for an RTM by CSK.
According to reports, the IPL auction will take place in the last week of November.
