As the Super Kings got ready for a preseason camp in advance of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, MS Dhoni landed in Chennai on Wednesday, February 26. The five-time champions posted a picture of Dhoni departing Chennai airport, which increased anticipation for the 18th season of the marquee India T20 tournament. As he was being led by security guards out of the airport, MS Dhoni was seen sporting sunglasses and a black t-shirt. He was one of the first group of local athletes to arrive at the Chennai camp.
Earlier in the day, Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad was welcomed with open arms. Many players arrived in Chennai before the traditional pre-season camp, including fast bowler Gurjapneet Singh and uncapped player Andre Siddharth. On Tuesday, the young pace three of Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Anshul Kamboj, and Khaleel Ahmed also joined the camp.
MS Dhoni begins preparation for IPL 2025
As the Super Kings attempt to recover from a disappointing 2024 season, MS Dhoni will be closely monitoring the preseason camp.
CSK has maintained lengthy preseason camps since MS Dhoni's 2020 retirement from international cricket to give their star player time to get back to his best. Dhoni recently talked about the year-round effort he makes to stay healthy and prepared for the two months of the IPL.
"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. 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," Dhoni said at a promotional event in Mumbai in February.
After putting a stop to rumours over his future in the IPL, Dhoni will play again in 2025. Since leaving international cricket, Dhoni has had to contend with rumours that he is retiring. Prior to the massive auction, the Super Kings paid Rs 4 crore to keep Dhoni as an uncapped player. Following his fifth IPL victory in 2023, Dhoni expressed his desire to participate in the league for at least one more season as a thank-you to the supporters who have shown him so much affection over the years.
Dhoni chose to prolong his IPL career after failing to qualify for the 2024 playoffs. Dhoni has reaffirmed in previous public appearances that he wants to play in the IPL as long as he enjoys being on the pitch.
The five-time IPL champion skipper has been able to stay healthy and make sure he keeps contributing to the squad. Dhoni participated in all 14 IPL 2024 games for CSK, amassing 161 runs at an incredible strike rate of 220. Although he now bats lower in the order and concentrates on making significant cameos, he has still kept wickets for the Super Kings. On March 22, one day after the season start in Kolkata, the Super Kings will play their first IPL 2025 match against the Mumbai Indians in Chennai.
