IPL 2022: MS Dhoni arrives in Chennai ahead of Mega auction

Ahead of the Indian Premier League Mega Auction, the Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni has arrived in the city to join the management’s preparations.

Chennai Super Kings official social media handle shared a couple of pictures of Dhoni’s arrival to Chennai. The concerned hotel, where Dhoni would be staying ahead of his discussion, also shared the pictures on their official accounts.

According to a source, MS Dhoni has arrived in Chennai to discuss the auction buys and other prospects. However, nobody knows whether he would stay for the auction or would leave before that. 

“Yes, he has arrived in Chennai today. He will be here for the auction discussions. He is likely to be present for the auction. But it is Mahi’s call and a call will be made close to the auction,” sources told InsideSport.

MS Dhoni is one of the four players retained by the CSK franchise ahead of the 2022 IPL and he will lead the team once again. However, Dhoni wasn’t the team’s first pick but Ravindra Jadeja is. 

Jadeja was retained for Rs 16 crore, while Dhoni was the team’s second pick with Rs 12 crore. Apart from the duo, the team had opted for England all-rounder Moeen Ali for Rs 8 crore while 2021 IPL’s orange cap holder Ruturaj Gaikwad bagged Rs 6 crore. 

The team had to let go of many of their mainstays including Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu among others. Both players have been an integral part of Chennai Super Kings over the years and had won multiple trophies for them. CSK, who usually hates to change the dynamics of their team, are likely to bring back their core players in the auction.

Dhoni’s role in auction:

This is not the first time Dhoni has had a meeting with the management before an auction. Over the years, the team’s skipper has played an integral role in picking the team and working on its composition. 

According to reports, the management is also keen on finding a young captaincy prospect and grooming him as a leader while Dhoni is still there with the franchise.

CSK is one of the teams that had surprised everyone in every single auction. The team had invested in unknown names and had produced many stars. Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar are among a few names who went on to play for the country from the franchise. The team will be keen to rebuild the team and defend their trophy in the upcoming edition.  

The team is just one title away to become the joint-successful team with the most number of IPL titles. Currently, Mumbai Indians sit on top with five titles to their name.

The franchise will enter the mega auction with the purse of Rs 48 Crore and can buy as many as 21 players in the auction which will take place in Bangalore in the first week of February.

Chennai Super Kings is not the only team to have a meeting ahead of the auction. Recently, Sunrisers Hyderabad had an online meeting regarding the mega auction, and the franchise had shared images on their official handle.

Kolkata Knight Riders have taken a different route and will go on to conduct a mock auction along with fans. The officials will take note of the expectations of the fans ahead of the mega auction.

Dhoni could step down from captaincy

According to reports, this is likely to be Dhoni’s final edition as the captain of the franchise. MS Dhoni, who had retired from international cricket in August 2020, continued to captain the Chennai Super Kings franchise and had managed to win yet another trophy with them last year. 

However, the former India captain is likely to step down from the captaincy soon and is likely to hand it over, most likely to Ravindra Jadeja. This is one of the reasons why the all-rounder was preferred for a higher price than MS Dhoni.

Uthappa hinted about Jadeja’s take over

Robin Uthappa, who was part of the franchise in 2021, hinted that Ravindra Jadeja could be the next captain for the team after the retirement of MS Dhoni.

 “I am sure that is MS Dhoni’s doing itself. He knows the value that Jadeja has to the unit. I think from what I understand, Jadeja might be someone who could end up leading the squad in the future as well when MS Dhoni retires. They have given him the due he deserved,” Uthappa said on Star Sports.

The all-rounder has 2386 runs and 127 wickets in 200 IPL matches and is a regular in the Indian team. Thus, the team might opt for him in the future.