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The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had quite a disappointing IPL 2025 campaign as they recorded just four victories in the league stage and finished at the bottom of the points table with just eight points. This was the first-time ever that the Chennai-based franchise finished the season at the last place on the points table.
Dhoni failed to make a big impact for CSK in IPL 2025
Alongside the franchise, CSK icon MS Dhoni also had a season to forget as he could only manage to score a total of 196 runs in 13 innings. He also failed to improve the side's form even when he got handed the captaincy after an elbow fracture ruled out regular skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad from the tournament. Throughout the season, rumours of retirement kept floating around the 43-year-old, however he didn't provide any update on the topic.
However, a few days after the tournament's conclusion, former Australia captain Michael Clarke has predicted that Dhoni will feature in the next IPL season, labelling him as the 'king' of CSK and stating that his impact on the franchise is undermined by people.
He also spoke about the IPL future of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, both of whom had a significantly better season than Dhoni. Kohli was the third-highest run-getter of the tournament with 657 runs and won his first-ever IPL title with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. On the other hand, Rohit scored 418 runs in 15 matches and played a key role in Mumbai Indians' qualification to the playoffs. The side was eventually knocked out in the second qualifier by the Punjab Kings.
“I think MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will play in next year's IPL. MS Dhoni is massive. Every time Chennai plays, even in away games, there are more Chennai fans than any other fan. Sponsors, they are there because of MS Dhoni. The fans, they are there because of MS Dhoni,” Clarke said on the Beyond23 Cricket podcast.
"He is the king of that franchise. They want him to keep playing and I dont think people realise the impact. When he decides to retire, it will be a huge loss to the franchise," he added.
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Though CSK had a forgettable IPL 2025 campaign, their last few matches of the season saw youngsters step up in both the batting and bowling departments. The likes of Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis and Anshul Kamboj all performed well in the last few games and helped CSK in ending the season on a high note by defeating the Gujarat Titans by a massive 83-run margin.
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