CHENNAI: It hardly happens that a 110-metre six that goes out of the ground becomes counterproductive for the batting side. But that’s exactly what happened for MS Dhoni and Chennai Super Kings at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday when the legend hit left-arm pacer Yash Dayal for a massive six in the first ball of the last over.
“The ball was lost and had to be replaced. Dayal got a drier ball and suddenly hitting became difficult,” a senior CSK official told TOI. What it meant was that Dhoni couldn’t connect the all-important second six of the over and fulfill his promise to his fans of playing his last IPL match at Chepauk.
The 42-year-old was devastated after the loss and was one of the first to leave the city for Ranchi on Sunday morning. But there lingers a belief in the CSK camp that Saturday’s loss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru might not have been Dhoni’s last.
“Dhoni has not told anybody in CSK that he is quitting. He has told the management that he will wait for a couple of months before taking a final call,” a source close to the developments said.
What is giving CSK management hope is that Dhoni will keep his promise of playing his last game at Chepauk, is his batting and wicketkeeping form. Even on Saturday, he scored 25 at a strike-rate of close to 200 which was better than the likes of Ravindra Jadeja or Shivam Dube — the designated hitters of the team.
Dhoni also batted for four overs and was comfortable in his running between the wickets — the torn calf that he was playing with gradually healing along the course of the tournament. “He did not feel any discomfort in his running between the wickets and that is a plus,” the source said.
There is a big auction coming up next year and teams may be allowed to retain a maximum of five players. There are four CSK players — Ruturaj Gaikwad, Jadeja, Dube and Matheesha Pathirana — who are sure-fire retentions. In that case, Dhoni may well opt for the lowest retention slot without blocking too much money for new players to be bought from the auction table.
‘Impact sub’ rule may play a role
In addition, Dhoni may wait to see if the ‘impact sub’ rule is abolished by the BCCI for the next IPL. This rule allows Dhoni the flexibility of playing the extra batter while keeping himself for the last two overs, when he doesn’t have to do too much running. If BCCI does away with the rule, it may not be too viable for a team to have a batter exclusively for only 12 balls. His franchise appears to have left the decision to him. “We will wait for Dhoni’s communication. He always has the best interests of the team in mind, let’s see what happens,” the CSK official said.