MS Dhoni answers retirement question in new podcast, keeps door open to play next season too

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has addressed his future in a podcast which aired on his app after the Chennai Super Kings were handed a 25-run defeat the Delhi Capitals at home on Saturday in an Indian Premier League clash. The 43-year-old’s place in the Chennai team is under scrutiny after the wicketkeeper-batter could not take CSK to victory over Delhi.
Dhoni had come in to bat with the score reading 74/5. This meant that Chennai needed 110 off 56 deliveries with the asking rate standing a shade under 12. Dhoni had managed just a 26-ball, unbeaten 30, as Chennai had fallen 25 runs short of the target. This was CSK’s third defat this season with just one victory.
“I am still playing the IPL and one year at a time. I am 43, the end of this IPL season, I will be 44 in July. So I have 10 months to decide whether I want to play one more year and it’s not me deciding; it’s my body, whether you can play or not,” Dhoni said on Raj Shamani’s podcast. It could not be ascertained when the podcast was recorded.
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Dhoni has copped some flak this season for his performances with the bat: he has managed to score just 76 runs in four innings in IPL 2025 with a highest score of 30*, which came against Delhi Capitals. He has also been criticised for coming in to bat at No 9 — behind Ravichandran Ashwin in the batting order — in the game against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru this season.
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CSK coach Stephen Fleming, when asked earlier in the season why Dhoni was coming so low down the order, had explained: “It’s a time thing. MS judges it. His body is… his knees aren’t what they used to be. And he’s moving okay, but there’s still an attrition aspect to it. He can’t bat ten overs running full stick. So he will gauge on the day what he can give us. If the game’s in the balance like today, he will go a little bit earlier, and he backs other players when other opportunities are up. So he’s balancing that.”