It has been more than five years since former India captain MS Dhoni played his last international game. Despite playing no international cricket, Dhoni has represented Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and withstood the test of time against lethal fast bowlers. The CSK legend has had his fair share of injuries but continues to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) despite being 43-year-old. Ahead of IPL 2025, Dhoni said that noone cares about his age as he puts in a lot of hard work for six to eight months in a year to keep his fitness levels up.
I only play a couple of months in a year, but I want to enjoy it the way I started playing, that's something that keeps me going," Dhoni said at a promotional even in Mumbai on February 21.
"But, of course, for that, I need to put in a lot of hard work for six to eight months because IPL is one of the toughest tournaments. Nobody really cares about how old you are. If you're playing at this level, the level needs to be the same," he added.
Dhoni's ultimate motivation
Dhoni who led India to T20 World Cup 2007, ODI World Cup 2011 and Champions Trophy 2013 title wins said that his biggest motivation was to play for India as he came from a state which was not known for producing cricketers.
"When I started playing international cricket, for me the biggest motivation was representing my country," he said.
"It has always been the country for me because coming from where I came, not known for cricket as a state, once I got a chance I wanted to contribute, I wanted to be part of a winning team that was trying to win each and every game, you're trying to win the big tournaments, the bilateral series (and) so (on).
"For me, my biggest motivation was that contribution to make India win. Now that I've retired from international cricket, I can't say it's the same, but for me now, it's the love for the sport," he added.
"It's hard work, but for me now, enjoying the game is the key aspect. When I'm out of the field, trying to be the best kind of a person that I can be so that people remember me for (being) the good human being... so that's something that I always had in my life (that) this is what I am in person."
Dhoni was retained as uncapped player for Rs 4 crore by CSK before the IPL mega auction. He is one of the players in the IPL 2025 who have been playing in the league since the inaugural edition.