MS Dhoni will never retire from Chennai Super Kings; he will remain intact with the franchise forever, confirmed CSK Chief Executive Kasi Viswanathan ahead of the IPL 2026.
Kasi Viswanathan made it clear that they will not let MS Dhoni go, as they have a long-term vision with him, which is beyond the cricket field. His comments on the former India skipper make sense, as MS Dhoni is not only a former cricketer; he is a brand name, and CSK management knows how to make business.
MS Dhoni will remain with CSK
Viswanathan claimed that when they invested in a young Mahendra Singh Dhoni back in 2008, they invested in him with a clear vision. The management was then looking for someone who could take on field charges entirely and make the management free to move to do business from the ground up.
Your daily dose of cricket!
While some other franchises were running behind the iconic cricketers, CSK was on their way to make a permanent deal, a deal that can last long forever. And they got their man in the form of MS Dhoni, who went on to win 5 IPL titles with the Chennai Super Kings.
He also confirmed that the next major move of Chennai Super Kings is investing in women’s cricket, hinting at a possible Women’s Premier League entry.
“MSD will surely play this season and will be with CSK forever. And the very next step for us will be to invest in women’s cricket. You can be sure of it”, he said, as quoted by RevSportz.
Why CSK picked MS Dhoni?
“We picked MSD in the auction in 2008 and must say he will forever stay our best investment. Most other teams had an icon player. Mumbai had Sachin, Kolkata Sourav, Bengaluru Rahul, and so on. We did not, and we went for Dhoni, for VB Chandrasekhar had mentioned him to N. Srinivasan, saying he would make a fantastic leader. How correct he was!” Kasi Viswanathan said, as quoted by Revsportz.
The franchise knew that the thinking processes of a cricketer and an administrator can act in different ways. So, they did not want to interfere in the on-field activities. With this mindset, the management backed Dhoni from the beginning to shape the team.
“We in CSK have known from the very start that cricketers and administrators think differently. It is better that cricketers are allowed to take on-field calls while the administrators focus on things off the field. MSD had our fullest support in shaping the team and the way we played. The bond was organic, and you can see the results,” he added.
Kasi Viswanathan revealed future plans
The CSK chief executive further revealed their plans, keeping Dhoni in the middle of their future endeavours. The Yellow Brigade is slowly but surely expanding its wings in the different sports arenas as well, where Mahendra Singh Dhoni is acting like the face of the franchise. For example, Kasi shared the incident when Dommaraju Gukesh, an Indian chess prodigy and the current World Chess Champion, met Dhoni during the IPL.
“We have started with the grassroots and will expand over a period of time. Last year we had a very special moment during the IPL when Gukesh met MSD. The mesh of cricket and other sports is essential. This year we will be happy to have Tania Sachdev over and invite Ashwin to play a game of chess with her!” Kasi revealed.
Read More: Ishan Kishan FIRES SHOTS at Rohit Sharma for throwing him out of team