CSK waiting on go-ahead from Dhoni before retention deadline

MS Dhoni has not yet confirmed his availability for IPL 2025, according to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) CEO Kasi Viswanathan, who is hopeful that Dhoni will be part of the upcoming season.

"We have still no confirmation from him, though we will like him to continue playing for us," Viswanathan told ESPNcricinfo. "Hope he will confirm before 31st [October]."

October 31 is the deadline by which the ten franchises have to submit their list of retained players to the IPL ahead of the mega auction, and this year Dhoni is eligible to be retained by CSK as an uncapped player. That was made possible after the IPL brought back a rule that had been scrapped in 2021, according to which a player can be considered as uncapped if they have been retired from international cricket for five years.

Dhoni last played for India at the 2019 ODI World Cup, and announced his retirement in August 2020; he does not play any cricket apart from the IPL, and scored 161 runs at a strike rate of 220 as a finisher in the 2024 season after handing over the CSK captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad.

While it is extremely likely that Dhoni will be retained by CSK, if they retain him as an uncapped player, they will lose only INR 4 crore from their auction purse of INR 120 crore.

The IPL franchises have been allowed to retain up to six players ahead of the mega auction before the 2025 season, of which a maximum of five can be capped internationals. While the IPL has set minimum deductions from the auction purse for each player retained - INR 18 crore for the first player, INR 14 crore for the second, INR 11 crore for the third, INR 18 crore for the fourth, and INR 14 crore for the fifth - the franchises are free to pay more than those amounts to their retained players. For example, Sunrisers Hyderabad are set to retain Heinrich Klaasen for INR 23 crore, Pat Cummins for INR 18 crore, and Abhishek Sharma for INR 14 crore.