NEW DELHI: MS Dhoni, the 43-year-old former Indian captain, has been an integral part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) since its inception 17 seasons ago. Despite his age, Dhoni believes he can still put his body through six to eight months of rigorous training to be fit for the lucrative league.
Chennai Super Kings, the franchise he has led to five IPL titles, has retained Dhoni ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, demonstrating their continued faith in his abilities.
While Dhoni retired from international cricket nearly six years ago, he acknowledges that it takes a significant amount of hard work to maintain fitness and readiness for the two-month IPL tournament.
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“I only play a couple of months in a year, but I want to enjoy it the way I started playing, that’s something that keeps me going,” Dhoni said during an event on Friday.
He emphasizes that age is irrelevant in the IPL, and the level of performance expected remains the same regardless of a player’s age.
“But, of course, for that, I need to put in a lot of hard work for six to eight months because IPL is one of the toughest tournaments. Nobody really cares about how old you are. If you’re playing at this level, the level needs to be the same,” he added.
Dhoni’s motivation during his international career stemmed from representing his country, especially coming from a state not known for cricket.
“When I started playing international cricket, for me the biggest motivation was representing my country,” he stated.
“It has always been the country for me because coming from where I came, not known for cricket as a state, once I got a chance I wanted to contribute, I wanted to be part of a winning team that was trying to win each and every game, you’re trying to win the big tournaments, the bilateral series (and) so (on).
“For me, my biggest motivation was that contribution to make India win. Now that I’ve retired from international cricket, I can’t say it’s the same, but for me now, it’s the love for the sport,” he added.
“It’s hard work, but for me now, enjoying the game is the key aspect. When I’m out of the field, trying to be the best kind of a person that I can be so that people remember me for (being) the good human being… so that’s something that I always had in my life (that) this is what I am in person.”
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