Former India captain MS Dhoni is currently vacationing with his family in Thailand. The official social media handle of Ziva, Dhoni’s daughter, shared snippets from their vacation in Phuket. In one of the videos shared, Dhoni was spotted taking a dip in the ocean as Ziva watched her father from the shores. The former India captain was sporting a black vest and shades during their beach day-out. Ziva also shared some beautiful pictures from the picturesque sunset by the beach.
Dhoni seemed to be making the most out of his time off cricket as he will be back in action for CSK in IPL 2025. The legendary wicketkeeper-batter was retained by the Chennai Super Kings in the retentions announced ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. A total of 1574 players (1165 Indians and 409 overseas) have registered for the Indian Premier League 2025 auction to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on November 24 and 25. The list has 1,224 uncapped players, 320 capped players and 30 cricketers from associate nations. 48 capped Indians are there on the list.
MS Dhoni is set to play his 18th season in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the franchise confirmed on October 31. Since 2024, speculation had been rife about whether Dhoni, fondly known as Thala, would make a comeback. Fans can now rejoice as the iconic player will once again grace the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, thrilling the ‘Anbuden’ faithful.
See the pics here-
MS Dhoni returns for CSK
Dhoni’s return coincides with the reintroduction of the uncapped player rule by the IPL governing council. The rule, scrapped in 2021, states that an Indian player without a BCCI Central Contract and who hasn’t played international cricket in the last five years is considered uncapped. This allowed CSK to retain Dhoni at a price of INR 4 Crore, easing their auction burden.
“A capped Indian player will become uncapped if the player has in the last five calendar years preceding the year in which the relevant season is held, not played in the starting XI in International Cricket (Test match, ODI, Twenty20 International) or does not have a Central Contract with BCCI. This will be applicable for Indian Players only,” said IPL in a media release.
Dhoni, a stalwart of the franchise since the tournament’s inception, has led CSK to five IPL titles—2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, and 2023.
Alongside Dhoni, CSK has retained key players, including Ruturaj Gaikwad (INR 18 Crore), Matheesha Pathirana (INR 13 crore), Shivam Dube (INR 12 crore), and Ravindra Jadeja (INR 18 crore). With five retentions, the franchise has spent INR 65 crore out of their INR 120 crore purse, leaving INR 55 crore for the mega auction.
