Dhoni to play for a new IPL team
After 8 years of playing for Chennai Super Kings, the team's captain MS Dhoni is all set to join a new IPL franchise. While there had been speculations as to what Dhoni would do after CSK suspension, it has become evident now that he will not be sitting out this IPL season as expected. However, his buyer has not yet been disclosed.
Dhoni begins his journey with CSK
In the 2008 inaugural bid of Indian Premier League players, Mahendra Singh Dhoni who had captained the Twenty20 World Championship win, was the highest paid cricketer of the season. He was bought for a whopping $1.5 million by Chennai Super Kings which is owned by N. Srinivasan's India Cements. 8 franchises had engaged in the bid for 7 hours.
CSK score 2 historic wins under Dhoni's leadership
In 2010, Dhoni's Super Kings played against Mumbai Indians and won by 22 runs thereby securing their first ever IPL victory. With this win, the Chennai Super Kings also passed for the Champions League Twenty20 2010 under Dhoni's leadership. In 2011 IPL, Chennai Super Kings defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore on their home ground. This was their second consecutive IPL win with Dhoni as captain.
Dhoni's team reached semi-finals 6 times
Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings were the runner-up in 4 IPL seasons: 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2015 (highest for any team in IPL history).
Dhoni's IPL statistics so far
In his 8 year IPL career, Dhoni scored a total of 2987 runs and played 129 matches. He scored 15 half centuries with an average of 39.30 runs per match. His highest score was 70 runs in the 2011 IPL session. In his last 2015 outing with CSK, the wicketkeeper-batsman played 17 matches and scored 372 runs in the tournament.
CSK suspended, Dhoni's IPL future in suspense
On 14 July, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings were suspended for 2 years from the Twenty20 tournament. This news came as a huge blow to CSK players and especially Mahindra Singh Dhoni who has spearheaded the team, almost becoming a synonym for it. While CSK does not want to let go of Dhoni, there is no pressure from them to stop him.
