Only two days remain for the IPL 2025 retention deadline, and rumours are flying thick and strong. One team which will be under focus is five-time champions Chennai Super Kings. There has been a lot of deliberations on who will be their No. 1 pick. The most intriguing part of their retention is whether MS Dhoni will be playing the next IPL or not. While he can be retained as an uncapped player, since he retired from international cricket over five years ago, some have said that he should be retained as a capped players.
In the midst of this, a post by CSK on X on Tuesday evening created flutter. The caption of the post read: "The Ones You Seek is Seeking You!" Along with the post, there were several emojis of helicopter, sword, star, rocket etc. It went viral within minutes. The social media users predicted that that these were actually hints on the retained.
Several users predicted that the retained players would be Ravindra Jadeja, Ritiraj Gaikwad, Matheesha Pathiarana, MS Dhoni, Rachin Ravindra.
One user, however, said that it was actually an old post re-published yet again.
The legendary MS Dhoni all but confirmed his intention to continue playing cricket in the Indian Premier League (IPL), as he dropped a subtle hint over his participation in the T20 league. When Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were approached for a reaction, the franchise's CEO Kasi Viswanathan also said that they are happy to see Dhoni being ready for another season of the IPL. What follows next is a call from Dhoni to the franchise owner N Srinivasan to finalise the retention list ahead of the IPL 2025 season.
However, what has also been reported that skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad isn't the No. 1 retention choice for CSK, but rather all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who quit T20 internationals after India's T20 World Cup triumph this year.
"When he is ready, what else (do) we want. We are happy," franchise CEO Kasi Viswanathan told Cricbuzz on Saturday.
During an event, Dhoni had said that he wants to enjoy the last few years of cricket that he has left in him.
"I just want to enjoy whatever last few years of cricket I am able to play," Dhoni was quoted as saying. "When you play cricket like a professional sport, it becomes difficult to enjoy it just like a game. That's what I want to do. It's not easy.
"The emotions keep coming, the commitments are there. I want to enjoy the game for the next few years. I have to keep myself fit for nine months, so that I can play two and a half months of IPL. You need to plan it out, but at the same time chill a bit."