Will or not it’s Dhoni’s final dance in GT vs CSK or is it “undoubtedly not”?

We have reached that point of the year once again where there are questions and speculations over MS Dhoni’s future in the IPL. The CSK captain, who is the league’s oldest uncapped player, has kept his cards close to his chest over his future in IPL, the only league that he is active in currently. As CSK take on GT in their final group stage game of IPL 2025, one can’t help but wonder – is this Dhoni’s last dance?

Will MS Dhoni call it a day in IPL?

Let’s take you back to what MS had said when he was asked about his future a few matches ago. He had said, “I don’t even know if I will be playing the next one.” What happened next? He’s featured in all games CSK have played since then.

Reports had surfaced earlier that Dhoni had informed the CSK management about his future. They stated that he is all set to play yet another season as the team doesn’t want to let go of their oldest player, especially during a transition phase.

As far as Dhoni is concerned, on May 8, he dismissed any conversation around his retirement, saying it was nothing for him to decide now.

“That’s the love and affection I have got throughout, not to forget, I’m 43 and I have played for a long time. They don’t know when it will be my last year, it is a fact I play only 2 months a year. This IPL gets over, then I have to work for the next 6-8 months to see if my body is able to take this kind of pressure. Nothing to decide as of now, but the love and affection I get everywhere is excellent,” Dhoni had said.

Make no mistake, Dhoni isn’t the same person that he was years ago. Like many experts have pointed out, his reflexes have gone down, he has trouble with his knees and he’s struggling to play against spin – something that has never happened before.

To make matters worse, he comes into bat pretty late. One would have thought that with Dhoni taking over the reins of the team from an injured Gaikwad, CSK could turn around their fortunes. However, that simply backfired as the five-time champions find themselves at the bottom of the IPL 2025 points table.

Dhoni had the perfect opportunity to sign off on a high note after leading the team to their record 5th IPL title in 2023. However, he returned in 2024 where they team were denied a playoffs spot by RCB. The very next year, this season, they are at the rock bottom, with just three wins from 13 matches.

From his retirement from Tests to ODIs, Dhoni has always taken fans by surprise when it comes to announcing his retirement. It might be the same case for his IPL retirement too. After all, one half of CSK fans are wishing that he continues while a majority believe that it is high time that he hangs up his boots. What will Dhoni decide? Well let’s wait till the end of GT vs CSK to find out.