Personally i don't think MS Dhoni will play in IPL next year: Matthew Hayden

Fans and critics are speculating about Chennai Super Kings' captain MS Dhoni's future in the IPL.

Earlier this week, the Chennai Super Kings made their way into the 10th Indian Premier League final after a resounding victory over the Gujarat Titans in the first qualifier held in Chennai. With four championship titles under their belt, the CSK squad is determined to match the record of the Mumbai Indians, who have won the tournament five times. The highly anticipated final will take place in Ahmedabad on Sunday night, and the Chennai team eagerly awaits the announcement of their opponents. Throughout the season, CSK captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has earned praise from fans and former cricketers for his exceptional leadership skills. Despite facing several injury setbacks, the Super Kings managed to secure a remarkable second-place finish in the table. Their impressive journey continued as they comfortably defeated the defending champions, the Titans, by a margin of 15 runs in order to secure their spot in the final.

Hayden Praises Dhoni's Leadership

Matthew Hayden, the former Australian batsman who was a part of the Chennai Super Kings during the early years of the tournament, has expressed high praise for the 41-year-old star, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Hayden believes that Dhoni possesses the remarkable ability to turn “trash into treasure.”

"MS is a magician. He takes someone else's trash and makes them treasure. He is a very skilful and positive captain. He said something really interesting which I thought summed up not only his humility and his truth around cricket where he is represented and that is in Tamil Nadu Cricket Association," Hayden told PTI.

“The alignment between that association and the franchise, how strong that is in terms of building that process. To me that is MS. There is a systematic way of going though things and working through them. He did that for India and he is doing it for Chennai Super Kings,”Hayden further said.

Australian opener believes 2023 could be Dhoni's final season

In addition, the Australian opener made a significant observation regarding Dhoni's future with the Chennai Super Kings, suggesting that he believes the 2023 edition of the tournament could be Dhoni's final season as a player.

“Whether he plays or not next year it is almost irrelevant. Personally I don't think he will but then he is MS Dhoni,” said Hayden.

Dhoni says he has 8-9 months to decide on future

Earlier, Dhoni refrained from confirming his return for the 2024 season, emphasizing that he has "8-9 months" to carefully contemplate and make a decision regarding his future in the game.

"January 31 was when I got out of the house, finished my work, and started practicing from 2nd or 3rd of March. It takes a lot, but I have ample time to decide."

"I don't know... I have 8-9 months to decide. Why take that headache now. I have ample time to decide. The auction is in December," the 41-year-old said during the post-match interview after CSK's win over GT.