The suspense continues over M.S. Dhoni’s future.
| Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI
The cricketing fraternity is officially hours away from morphing into amateur sleuths as Chennai Super Kings looks to plunder Gujarat Titans’ home-base when the teams play their final IPL 2025 group-stage fixture at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Sunday.
The stakes are higher for GT, guaranteed a top-two finish if it wins. A loss could still see newly appointed India Test skipper Shubman Gill’s side getting two shots at making the final, but it would have to wait for other results. CSK, already eliminated, has nothing to lose.
But come Sunday, mathematical equations will be put on the back burner. Spectators and the broadcaster alike will have their eyes peeled to catch the subtlest change of mannerisms of a 43-year-young M.S. Dhoni.
Over the past few years, CSK’s last games of a season have drawn less attention for reasons surrounding the match itself, but more for the possibility of the dreaded retirement announcement from the side’s talisman.
Social media had flown off the handle when eagle-eyed fans spotted a pattern of dots and dashes on their beloved Thala’s T-shirt ahead of the 2025 pre-season training. It turned out the cryptic message read ‘One Last Time’ in Morse code. In a rare occurrence, Dhoni’s parents added fuel to the rumours by attending a match at Chepauk.
So, it won’t be surprising to have Danny Morrison tickling the big elephant in the room at the toss again. However, the Madras makkal (people of Chennai) can only hope the reply is what they have been fond of hearing since 2020.
Published – May 24, 2025 06:24 pm IST
