Cricket legend Mahendra Singh Dhoni reached Chennai on Tuesday ahead of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL). There is growing speculation that the former India captain will lead Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the last time this season. (More Cricket News)
The defending champions posted a picture of Dhoni, who led them to their fifth title last season, exiting a vehicle on social media, with a caption: "#THA7A Dharisanam!"
In another post, CSK shared a photo of Dhoni greeting the team mascot, and wrote: "ThalaiVanakkam!"
Popularly known as Thala (meaning 'leader' in Tamil), Dhoni on Monday sent speculation into overdrive by claiming that a "new role" awaits him in the "new season" in a viral social media post.
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Last year, the 42-year-old battled through a knee injury and mostly came out to bat towards the fag end of CSK innings. He did manage to score 104 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 182.46, his best-ever in an IPL season.
The speculation is rife though that this 2024 season will be his final one as a player. But CSK pacer Deepak Chahar said that the wicketkeeper-batter can still go that extra mile and continue to do wonders in the field.
"In T20s, you retire when you feel 140kmph is extremely fast. Last year, you see how MS Dhoni hit sixes against 145kmph and we see that in the nets as well, Chahar said in a discussion with cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra. "He will play this year. I think he will decide after this season. I personally think he can play for two years."
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Earlier, Dhoni and his wife Sakshi were in Jamnagar to attend the pre-wedding function of Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Indian business tycoon Mukesh Ambani.
Chennai Super Kings have already started their pre-season training camp on Saturday. The first batch of players who have arrived so far include Deepak Chahar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Simarjeet Singh, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Mukesh Choudhary, Prashant Solanki, Ajay Mandal, Shaik Rasheed and Nishant Sindhu.
CSK will start their IPL 2024 campaign with a home match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on March 22.
