MS Dhoni is set to play his 17th season in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and 15th for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), whom he has led five titles to. Apart from the eight games in the 2022 edition, Dhoni has been the captain of CSK in all the seasons the franchise has played in the IPL and is set to lead the Men in Yellow again. However, a former CSK batter Ambati Rayudu believes this is the right time for the franchise to pick Dhoni's successor with the legendary skipper likely to play his final season.
Who knows if it will be Dhoni's final season in the IPL or not but as per Rayudu, with the impact player rule the CSK skipper can take a back seat and hand over the reins to someone else. "With the impact player rule, he can take a back seat and promote someone to captain their side in the middle," Rayudu said on Star Sports' Press Room.
"So this year might be a transition year for CSK if it’s his last year, if he decides to play for a few more years, I think he would be the captain. I would personally like him to see as a captain," he added. "I think if he has decided to play this season and if he is even 10% fit, he will definitely play the full season and knowing him, injury will not keep him out of the game and he has played through many injuries. Even during last season, he was playing with a very bad knee injury, so I don’t think anything will stop him from playing this full season."
There were reports of Dhoni handing over the captaincy reigns to someone like Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of IPL 2024. However, there hasn't been any such development as yet and looks like Dhoni will continue to lead the side in 17th season of the IPL as well. However, with the mega auction slated to held ahead of the 2025 edition of the IPL, this could be a key season for CSK in looking at a few players for the future.
