The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season saw a thrilling match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Sunday. CSK took the victory by 5 wickets at their home turf, the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai. The atmosphere was joyous as the players also gave away signed balls to fans, after their 50th home win at the venue. However, it was also their final home game in this season.
However, what made the match even special were the intensifying speculations of 42-year-old Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s (MS Dhoni) retirement. This was fuelled by the fact that the CSK frachise had teased a ‘special treat’ for the fans after the match through social media. The franchise had said that after the match is over, the spectators should remain in the stadium because something special is going to happen after the match. Naturally, the fans associated something special to Mahi, and hence the rumours of his retirement gained traction.
What happened after the match?
However, after defeating Rajasthan Royals in a titanic battle, a different scene played out. Dhoni, teammates and staff of CSK did a victory lap or 'lap of honour' around the stadium. Along with this, Dhoni along with former player Suresh Raina expressed gratitude to their fans for always supporting the team.
Meanwhile, the team also gave signed balls to the fans as a gift. Before the lap of honour, all the players including Dhoni were awarded gold medals by Rupa Gurunath, daughter of team owner N Srinivasan.
Mahi was given 'guard of honor' after the match
Along with all this, Dhoni was also given 'Guard of Honor' by his fellow players. Due to all these things, speculations about Dhoni's retirement have intensified in the minds of fans. However, no official statement has been released by the CSK franchise, Dhoni or IPL.
For the unversed, Dhoni will turn 43 this time on 7th July, due to which many are considering this his last IPL season. Mahi had left the captaincy of the team just before this season and handed over the responsibility to Ruturaj Gaikwad. Dhoni is likely to be seen in some new role like mentor or coach in the next season. However, no clear picture is available for now.
Suresh Raina, famously known as 'Chinna Thala', however had a different answer, saying “Absolutely not.” He says that Dhoni can play in the next season also. In the current season, CSK is still in the race for the playoffs. In the points table, CSK is at third place with 14 points. The team will have to win their only remaining match with RCB at any cost.
CSK will play its last match in the group stage of this 2024 IPL season against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on 18 May. This match will be played at RCB's home ground M Chidambaram Stadium in Bengaluru.