File image of MS Dhoni
"ThankYouMSDhoni" started trending on Twitter as BCCI's central-contract list saw the absence of MS Dhoni's name. And it once again sparked rumours overs his retirement from international cricket. But Chennai Super Kings owner N Srinivasan confirmed on Saturday that the former Indian skipper will be part of the impending Indian Premier League season and will be retained at next year's auction.
"Dhoni will play this year, next year he will go to the Auction and we will retain him,” said Srinivasan in an event.
Dhoni has been part of the franchise since its inception in 2008, barring the two seasons he played for presently-defunct Rising Pune Supergiants in 2016 and 2017 owing to the suspension of CSK over corruption charges. Being the skipper of the franchise over its 10 seasons, Dhoni has also led CSK to three title triumphs and were the runners-up in 2019.
Talking about his omission from BCCI's central contract, a top BCCI official informed PTI that Dhoni was made aware of the decision. He will be re-inducted to the list if he manages to make it through to India's World T20 team.
“Let me clarify that one of the top-most BCCI office-bearers spoke to MS and told him about how they are going about in the central contracts. He was clearly told that since he hasn’t played any game in the said period (September 2019 till date), he cannot be included for the time being,” the official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Dhoni last played for India in the team's World Cup loss in the semis. It has been almost 200 days since then. India has named squads for nine limited-overs series but Dhoni featured in none.
