Amidst the fervor of the Indian Premier League (IPL) retentions, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) legend MS Dhoni celebrated Diwali with family and friends. The festivities coincided with the announcement of CSK’s five retentions ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.
Dhoni, the former India and CSK captain, was retained as the ‘uncapped’ player for Rs 4 crore. This move was made possible by a rule allowing players who have not played international cricket or been centrally contracted to the BCCI for five or more years to be retained as ‘uncapped’ players.
Dhoni’s retention puts to rest rumors of his retirement. He has expressed his desire to enjoy the “last few years” of his career, indicating that he still has cricket left in him.
CSK also showed faith in Ruturaj Gaikwad, who took over captaincy from Dhoni. Gaikwad was retained for Rs 18 crore, the same fee paid to retain Ravindra Jadeja. 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 capped and one as uncapped, 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 potential candidates for CSK’s RTM.
The IPL auction is expected to take place in the last week of November. CSK will be looking to strengthen their squad with the remaining slots and RTM card.
