Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Suresh Raina wants legendary wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 considering his batting in IPL 2024. Dhoni who left the captaincy before the first match of IPL 2024 was played as a finisher in IPL 2024 where he scored 161 runs in 14 matches with an impressive strike rate of 220.25 and his highest score was 37 not-out as well.
However, Ruturaj Gaikwad was appointed as the new captain for Chennai Super Kings before IPL 2024 opener clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Raina who will now feature in the Legends League Cricket exclusively told Sports Tak that Gaikwad needs one more year to learn leadership from MS Dhoni as well.
“I want MS Dhoni to play in IPL 2025, considering how he batted last year. I feel Ruturaj Gaikwad needs one more year, the way he captained and a lot of things were said after the loss to RCB. However, Ruturaj has done a great job,” Raina said.
However, after CSK’s defeat in IPL 2024, there were a lot of speculations that this could be the last IPL for MS Dhoni as a player but he has not announced anything yet. Earlier this month at an event in Hyderabad, Dhoni said that he will decide on his IPL career after the new rules and regulations are announced.
“There is a lot of time for it. We have to see what decision they take on player retention etc. Right now, the ball is not in our court. So, once the rules and regulations get formalised, I will take a call, but it needs to be in the best interest of the team,” said the wicketkeeper-batter.
However, Suresh Raina also opined that Team India’s senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should have participated in the upcoming Duleep Trophy as well. He shared that playing in the red-ball domestic competition would’ve helped them get into the rhythm for the crucial Test season.
“They should have played. We have not played any red-ball cricket after the IPL. If you are going for a big series, you need to play red-ball cricket. I think they are all mature enough and they know how they need to practice once they regroup. Sometimes family time is very important,” Suresh Raina concluded.
