MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina
MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina. Image Credits: Twitter

In the Indian Premier with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) rivalry, the battle of captains is also in the buzz before the IPL 16 kicks off on March 31. MI’s Rohit Sharma and CSK’s MS Dhoni have won the title five and four times respectively.

Suresh Raina was part of CSK’s core group for almost 13 years (2008-21), during this span, he was part of the CSK four-time title-winning squad. Raina recently predicted Dhoni’s future in the IPL, by saying he could be seen playing Indian T20 league in 2024 also.

MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni. Image Credits: Twitter

Raina thinks Dhoni’s performance in IPL 2023 will decide his future-

“I wish he could, but we’ll have to see what his commitments are,”

“He can play the IPL next year as well, you never know,” said southpaw batter at the LLC Masters.

The 36-year-old played a total of 186 matches for the Chennai-based side in his 13 long years of IPL, he scored tons of runs for the MS Dhoni-led team. However, in his last season in 2021, he was later dropped from the playing XI due to his poor form.

“He’s been batting well and looking fit, it depends on how the performance is this year. It may be a little challenging since him and (Ambati) Rayudu haven’t played the tournament since one year.

Raina is currently playing in the Legends League Cricket (LLC) in Doha, Qatar under Gautaum Gambhir-led India Maharajas. While, the left-handed batter, after being part of the playing XI of the ODI World Cup winning team in 2011, retired from all formats of the game on 6th September 2022.While Dhoni retired from international cricket in August 2020.

“I think the team is quite strong, a lot of young players are coming through the ranks. (Ruturaj) Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja), (Ben) Stokes, Deepak Chahar…and there are more young and dynamic players in that side. Let’s see how they play,” he further added.

Although in the last edition of IPL in 2022, Chennai based side finished in the 9th spot with four wins out of 10 matches it played, before the IPL 16 kicks off, the MS Dhoni-led side faces a setback as New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson will miss the whole season due to injury.

“He picks, we stay in touch (laughs). Haa…jamke practice kar rahe hai (yes, he’s been practicing really hard), you must have seen the videos of him (on CSK social media handles). The way he is playing the big shots (in the nets). I hope he does well and makes them win,” concluded Raina on MS Dhoni’s future in IPL.

IPL 2023 will kick off with the opening game between four times winner, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and defending champions, Gujarat Titans (GT) on 31st March 2023. 10 teams will be battling in a total of 74 matches to be finals played on May 28.

Also read: IPL 2023: Former Indian Off-Spinner Terms His Stint At CSK As ‘Best Years’