Explained: How BCCI tweaked rules to help CSK retain MS Dhoni as 'Uncapped Player'

MS Dhoni is eligible to be retained as an uncapped player for only INR 4 crores for the IPL 2025 season.

On September 28, the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council announced the IPL player regulations and rules for the upcoming mega auction.

One of the talking points since then has been the return of the rule, wherein a capped Indian player would be considered uncapped if he has not played international cricket for the last five years preceding the IPL 2025 seasons.

This rule would allow the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to retain their former captain MS Dhoni, that too at a price of only INR 4 crores, which is the valued price for an uncapped player.

The IPL GC announced that each franchise can retain up to six players through retentions and the Right To Match (RTM) option with the restrictions of a maximum of five capped players (Indian and overseas) and a maximum of two uncapped players.

How can CSK retain MS Dhoni?

According to the rule, a capped Indian player will become uncapped if the player has not played international cricket in the last five years preceding the year in which the relevant season is held or hasn’t held a BCCI central contract in this period.

This means that since Dhoni last played international cricket in 2019, he is eligible to be retained as an uncapped player as five years will have passed by when the IPL 2025 season begins.

This rule will give two benefits to CSK. They can retain Dhoni for only INR 4 crores, means more money to either retain other players or use in the auction. Also, since Dhoni would be retained as an uncapped player, CSK could retain an extra capped player which wouldn’t have been possible without the return of this rule that was scrapped in 2021.

Now, there have been reports suggesting that the CSK franchise had not only asked for the revival of this rule during their meeting with the BCCI earlier this year, but the board has apparently made a tweak in the rule that was originally active until 2021.

It is believed that earlier the rule was if an Indian cricketer retires five years from the start of a season, he would be eligible to play as an uncapped player. However, the rule mentioned by the BCCI for the IPL 2025 auction states that the player must not have played an international game (modifying the wording from retired to played) for him to be eligible to be retained as an uncapped player.

Notably, Dhoni played his last game for India in 2019 but announced his retirement in August 2020. According to the original rule, Dhoni wouldn’t have been eligible to be retained as an uncapped player since he would’ve completed 4 years and 6 months at the start of IPL 2025.

But with the new rule in place, which takes into account the last international game and not the retirement date, it has been five years and two months right now since Dhoni last played for India.

This tweak in the rule made by the BCCI would help the Chennai Super Kings significantly in their aim of having Dhoni play another season while also retaining him for the salary of an uncapped player only, which is INR 4 crores.

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