MS Dhoni confirms he will be back with CSK in IPL 2021

Dhoni MS Dhoni made the customary toss tradition a memorable one for his countess fans. (BCCI/IPL)

MS Dhoni will be back in the Indian Premier League (IPL) next year. This was confirmed by the 39-year-old himself at the toss of Chennai Super Kings’ final game of the season on Sunday.

It was commentator Danny Morrison who asked Dhoni, “Will this be your last game in Yellow?”

“Definitely not,” Dhoni replied promptly.

As expected, his response has sent social media into a frenzy.

However, the 39-year-old Dhoni was expected to play the IPL for at least two seasons after announcing his international retirement on August 15 after the T20 World Cup, to he held in Australia in October-November, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dhoni’s final India appearance happened to be the 2019 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand.

CSK have had their worst season ever this year and are set to finish at the bottom of the table. It is the first time that the three-time champions have not made the play-offs, showing their remarkable consistency over the years.

The IPL next year is scheduled to be held in the usual April-May window but the dates could change due to the evolving COVID-19 situation around the world.

Chennai Super Kings won the toss and elected to field against Kings XI Punjab.

Faf du Plessis returned in place of Shane Watson, while Mitchell Satner made way for Imran Tahir. Shardul Thakur also returned to the playing XI in place of Karn Sharma in the CSK line-up.

For KXIP, Glenn Maxwell gave way to Jimmy Neesham, while a fit-again Mayank Agarwal replaced Arshdeep Singh.

Teams:

Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, N Jagadeesan, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir.

Kings XI Punjab: KL Rahul(C), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep Singh, James Neesham, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami.

(With PTI inputs)

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