Former cricketers Ajit Agarkar and Graeme Swann have weighed in on MS Dhoni’s retirement rumours after the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain admitted to the ‘uncertainties’ surrounding the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). One of the most successful cricketers in the history of the gentlemen’s game, Dhoni is in speculations about finishing his IPL career after the conclusions of the 14th season.
Speaking ahead of CSK’s final league fixture against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Thursday, the CSK captain said that there are a lot of uncertainties around him playing for the franchise next season. After Dhoni spoke at length about his future plans with Yellow Brigade during the coin toss on matchday 53 of the IPL 2021 between CSK and PBKS, former England spinner Swann backed the Chennai captain to extend his stay at the CSK squad for the 2022 season.
“I actually would. He is more than just a player for CSK. CSK without Dhoni isn’t CSK,” Swann told Star Sports after Dhoni hinted towards calling time on his IPL career. Former Indian pacer Agarkar opined that CSK’s retentions and Right to Match options at the mega auction will play a big role in shaping Dhoni’s future with the Chennai-based franchise.
“I think yeah, he spoke about it before that he clearly wants to play in front of the Chennai fans. Of course, it’s a great thing for the IPL as well. he wants to do well as a player too. But it will all depend on the retentions and the Right to Match rules as well. The positive is he still wants to play, that’s a good thing for CSK,” Agarkar said.
The recent remarks from the former two cricketers and full-time pundits have come after Dhoni vowed to extend his association with CSK next season. However, Dhoni had his reservations about staying at CSK as a franchise player. “Well, you can see me in yellow next year. But whether I will be playing for CSK? There are a lot of uncertainties around it for a simple reason that we have two new teams coming up,” Dhoni said while highlighting IPL’s expansion into a 10-team tournament from next season.
“We don’t know the retention policy. We don’t know how many foreigners, Indian players we can retain, the money cap that every player will be cutting from the kitty. So there are a lot of uncertainties. Unless the rules are in place, you can’t really decide that. So we will wait for it to happen and hopefully it will be good for everyone,” he added.
