Explained: What will be MS Dhoni's salary in IPL 2025 if CSK retain him as uncapped player?

MS Dhoni has become eligible to be retained as an uncapped player for IPL 2025.

Perhaps the biggest talking point among the fans, in particular among the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fans, after the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council announced the IPL player regulations for the upcoming mega auction is the rule regarding ‘uncapped’ player that has been revived.

On Saturday, September 28, the IPL GC released a set of regulations for the IPL 2025 mega auction. One point in the eight-pointer statement that caught everyone’s attention especially is the return of a rule that had started in 2008 but was scrapped in 2021 because it was never used.

This rule – in which a capped Indian player can be retained as an uncapped player – would allow CSK to retain their biggest superstar, MS Dhoni, as an uncapped player.

What is the uncapped player rule and how CSK can retain MS Dhoni?

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.

This rules benefits CSK as now they can retain Dhoni at the salary of an uncapped player and not his salary of last season.

What will be MS Dhoni’s salary in IPL 2025 if CSK retain him as an uncapped player?

If CSK retain Dhoni as an uncapped player, his salary will be only INR 4 crores, down from INR 12 crores which was from IPL 2022 to 2024. This benefits CSK significantly as now they get more space in their purse, which they use to retain a capped player or utilise it at the mega auction.

Further, with Dhoni potentially being retained as an uncapped player, they can retain an additional capped player that wouldn’t have been possible had the IPL GC not brought this rule back.

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