Chennai: Five time winners Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Thursday retained iconic cricketer M S Dhoni, confirming his participation in the IPL 2025 edition, while also retaining four other key players.
The yellow brigade also retained skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, Lankan speedster Matheesh Pathirana, all rounder Ravindra Jadeja and south paw Shivam Dube.
As the deadline for retention lists by IPL Franchisees ended this evening, CSK announced its decision retaining Dhoni for a modest purse of Rs four crore.
This followed after the CSK team management spoke to Dhoni before confirming the development.
Dhoni has guided the team to five title wins 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, and 2023, a record which was shared by another star studded outfit Mumbai Indians. He was also instrumental in CSK finishing runner-up on five other occasions.
The CSK's final retentions list is Ruturaj Gaikwad: Rs 18 crore, Matheesha Pathirana: Rs 13 crore, Shivam Dube: Rs 12 crore, Ravindra Jadeja: Rs 18 crore and MS Dhoni: Rs 4 crore
Dhoni had already announced that he would sign off from IPL in home ground of Chennai after playing his last match.
He had also hinted that IPL 2024 might be his last.
Though he played last year, CSK could not qualify for the play-offs. It finished the league phase with 14 points--seven wins, and seven losses.