Former India batter Kedar Jadhav believes Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni will bring down the curtains on his professional cricket career with the conclusion of IPL 2023.
While Dhoni retired from international cricket in August 2020, he continues to feature in the Indian Premier League.
“I am telling you this with 2,000 per cent certainty that this will be MS Dhoni’s final season as a player in IPL. I am telling you this exclusively,” Jadhav told CricketNext in an exclusive chat.
“Dhoni will turn 42 this July. Although still fit, Dhoni is also a human after all. So, I think this will be his final season. Fans shouldn’t be missing any of his matches, they should be watching every ball he’s in the field,” he added.
While Dhoni enjoys a huge fan following across the globe, his craze is on a different level among the cricket fans in Chennai. Fans are turning up in huge numbers when CSK play their home games at Chepauk and ardently cheer for their beloved captain.
“We also broke record on JioCinema the other day when Dhoni was batting,” Jadhav said referring to 2.2 crore viewers watching the CSK-RR game on Wednesday (April 12) when Dhoni was batting.
Meanwhile, MS Dhoni isn’t fully fit and carrying an injury which was evident in the team’s clash against Rajasthan Royals at MA Chidambaram Stadium.
While Dhoni nearly took CSK over the finishing line with a blazing knock of 32* in 17 balls, his running between the wickets wasn’t up to the mark. In fact, the 41-year-old was seen limping in the later part of his innings.
After the game, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming also confirmed that Dhoni is nursing a knee injury.
“He (Dhoni) is nursing a knee injury, which you can see in some of his movement, hindering him somewhat. His fitness has been professional. He comes in months before the tournament starts. He does some nets in Ranchi, but his main pre-season is a month before he comes to Chennai,” Fleming said in the post-match press conference.
Fleming, though, is confident that Dhoni will manage his injury well and will continue to lead the side.
“He works his way back into match form, and you can still see he is playing pretty well. So we always have confidence about how he manages himself. He always keeps himself up to speed,” he added.
