MS Dhoni, who missed this year’s IPL due to an injury, might not play next year either. Reports suggest there’s a major disagreement between him and the Chennai Super Kings management, making his future with the team uncertain.
There seems to be a major disagreement between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the Chennai Super Kings management over a stake in the franchise. Since the IPL began in 2008, Dhoni and CSK have been almost the same thing for fans. According to reports, Dhoni wanted to make this relationship even stronger by buying a stake in the team. However, the talks failed because they couldn’t agree on the terms, leading to a crack in their relationship.
Here’s how the negotiations reportedly went down. Initially, Dhoni wanted to buy a 25% stake in the franchise. But the team’s owners offered him just 3%. Dhoni then lowered his demand to 20%, but CSK’s counter-offer was only 4%. In the end, Dhoni was apparently ready to settle for an 18% stake, but the management’s final offer was a mere 5.5%. After this, the discussions came to a complete halt.
So, will Dhoni play for CSK again?
A media report claims that Dhoni wanted to buy the stake with his own money, not get it for free. But the CSK management seems to have seen things differently. This has created a serious rift between both sides ahead of the 2027 IPL season. Now, there’s a big question mark over whether Dhoni will even play in the next IPL.
An end of a golden era for IPL?
Dhoni has been with CSK since 2008, for every single season the team has played. Under his legendary captaincy, CSK won the IPL trophy five times. He has also played the most matches for the franchise. This year, he couldn’t play because of a calf muscle injury. Even then, there were talks about him staying on in some other role. But now, the whole situation has changed.