MS Dhoni confirms his participation for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2023

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who will turn 41 in July later this year, confirmed on Friday that he would be back next year playing the Indian Premier League (IPL) for CSK. 

There were a lot of speculations around MS Dhoni's participation in the IPL 2023. He had stepped down as CSK's captain two days ahead of the IPL 2022 season but resumed the duty again after Ravindra Jadeja stepped out as captain after leading the team for eight games. 

MS Dhoni, when asked whether he would don the yellow jersey in the next season of IPL, the CSK captain said that he would return next season for the franchise and fans. 

"I will definitely play next year. It would be unfair to not play in Chennai. It won't be nice to the CSK fans. Whether 2023 will be my last year or not, that is something we will have to see," Dhoni said when asked if he would continue playing for CSK in IPL 2023. 

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Notably, Dhoni retired from international cricket in August 2020, but he continues playing for Chennai Super Kings in IPL. The former India captain has been in sublime form this year, finishing a couple of games on his own and playing clutch knocks under pressure. 

MS Dhoni has scored 206 runs in 12 innings in the ongoing edition of the tournament, averaging 34.33 and at a strike rate of 128.75 with one half-century to his name. 

Dhoni had earlier opened up on his IPL future with Chennai Super Kings in a game against SRH on April 30, which was his first match as captain in the 2022 edition. 

"You will definitely see me in the yellow jersey [next year], whether this yellow jersey or some other yellow jersey, that's a different thing," MSD had said at the toss.

Under the leadership of MS Dhoni, Chennai Super Kings is the second most successful franchise of the tournament, with four IPL titles 2010, 2011, 2018 and 2021 in their kitty. However, he decided to pass the leadership baton to Jadeja ahead of the 2022 season.

The decision, however, backfired on the defending champions as they lost 6 out of their eight games under Jadeja. After Dhoni took over, CSK won two wins from four games. However, following their embarrassing five-wicket loss against Mumbai Indians on Thursday (May 12), the four-time champions were officially knocked out of the playoffs race.