Legendary Indian cricketer MS Dhoni is expected to announce his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the end of the 17th season. Dhoni formally declared his retirement from international cricket on August 15, 2020, but his participation in the IPL remained unchanged. The decision to hand over CSK captaincy to young opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad on the eve of the IPL 2024 opener between the five-time champions and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Chennai was the clearest signal that this could be Dhoni’s final season.

Dhoni and CSK have an unbreakable affinity, and the World Cup-winning captain will likely play an important role in the franchise moving ahead, albeit not as a player. CSK attempted a leadership turnover in the 2022 edition, but it did not work, with Ravindra Jadeja handing back the captaincy to Dhoni after eight games. It didn’t work out at that time but the move to appoint Ruturaj Gaikwad is different, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told PTI.

Whatever Dhoni does, it is in the best interest of the team. I got to know of the decision just before the captains’ meeting. You have to respect his decision, it is his call, Viswanathan added. Dhoni has played 250 IPL matches, scoring over 5000 runs with a strike rate of 135.92. The 42-year-old, who played with a strained knee last season, had surgery after leading CSK to their fifth title. Due to knee concerns, Dhoni was forced down to number 8 in the batting order last season, but after recovering to full fitness, he is expected to bat higher up this season.

Dhoni led CSK to two victories in the now-defunct Champions League T20, as well as five IPL titles, and has commanded the team in 235 of 249 games across all events. In addition, he led Rising Pune Supergiant for 14 games in 2016 and 2017 while CSK was suspended for two years from the IPL. He captained teams in 226 IPL games overall, putting him far above Rohit Sharma (158) in the captaincy statistics.