MS Dhoni confirms he’ll play for CSK in IPL 2023: He will say thank you to whole of India, says Sunil Gavaskar
India Today
IPL 2022: Chennai Super Kings captain confirmed that he will turn up to play for the 4-time champions next year. Batting great Sunil Gavaskar welcomed the former India captain’s decision to prolong his IPL career.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar on Friday, May 20 welcomed MS Dhoni’s decision to play for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2023, saying the World Cup-winning former skipper will have an opportunity to thank his fans across the country if the tournament is played in home and away format.
MS Dhoni, in a piece of information that brought great joy to his fans, confirmed that he will turn up for CSK in IPL 2023, quashing all speculation about his future in the IPL.
Dhoni, who will turn 41 in July this year, said he felt it will be unfair to CSK fans if he bids goodbye without playing in front of the home fans at the Chepauk.
Dhoni also added that he will look to say thank you to fans across the country, provided the IPL returns to the home and away format next year. The IPL was played in the UAE in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and only across select venues in the first half of IPL 2021 where teams did not play at their home venues before the tournament was moved back to the UAE in September-October.
“I think it’s a wonderful thing. Like he explained, he wants to say thank you to all those who have supported his team and him, no necessarily CSK, he has been captain of India, he has taken India to the heights unseen before,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.
“Next year, hopefully, it will be a kind of home and away situation. There are 10 teams, so he will be able to able to say goodbye to every 10 venues.
“Sometimes, we actually see some franchises want to maybe take another venue as their home ground. Ranchi could be a home ground. These things can happen, which means he gets the opportunity to say thank you to pretty much the whole of India,” Gavaskar added.