MS Dhoni and KL Rahul
Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes MS Dhoni should play his last IPL game in front of a jam-packed crowd as the 39-year-old deserves a grand farewell from the sport.
Ending their underwhelming IPL 2020 campaign on a positive note, Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) registered a comprehensive nine-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and completed a hat-trick of wins on Sunday. While hunting down a 153-run total, CSK's run-chase was bolstered by Ruturaj Gaikwad's third consecutive half-century of the season. He scored 62* off 49 deliveries to seal the game for the Yellow Army.
Apart from the result, CSK fans were elated at Dhoni's announcement over his future with the franchise. "Definitely not," replied the CSK skipper at the toss when asked by Danny Morrison if the match against Punjab was his last in the yellow jersey.
In no time, the internet was filled with tweets and posts about the former India skipper. After representing the national side in 350 ODIs, 90 Tests and 98 T20Is, Dhoni had announced his international retirement in August, leading to rumours over his future with the CSK contingent too.
After the three-time IPL champions failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in the tournament's history, there were speculations that this season might turn out to be Dhoni's last one. However, the CSK captain quashed all the rumours ahead of the CSK-KXIP encounter at Abu Dhabi.
"Maybe they thought I am retiring, you know. I retired from international cricket, so they might be thinking I am retiring from IPL as well," said Dhoni after the match while talking to Harsha Bhogle.
"Definitely not, right?" was Bhogle's next question referring to the earlier statement of Dhoni at the toss. "Definitely not," the 39-year-old said for the second time on Sunday.
Reacting to Dhoni's decision to continue playing for CSK, Vaughan has said that the 39-year-old deserves a grand farewell in front of a jam-packed crowd when he plays his last game for the franchise.
"If the IPL takes place in the UAE next year again, which there are whispers it will happen, MS Dhoni will have to play another year. He cannot finish his IPL career in front of no crowd," Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.
"He has to play at least one game the following year. He cannot go out in front of no crowds. If there is one player who deserves a big crowd to say goodbye to - if he probably cannot play, he would just disappear and say goodbye without us knowing about it - like he did in international cricket," he added.
