IPL 2025 will be the 18th season for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) icon MS Dhoni. Even at the age of 43, the legendary former India and CSK captain is going strong, and will be eyeing a sixth IPL title. IPL 2025 will also mark the return to CSK yellow for England all-rounder Sam Curran. Just ahead of CSK’s marquee fixture against Mumbai Indians (MI), Curran has delved into the aura carried by Dhoni, and the fact that he was practising at midnight ahead of the big clash.
“The other night I was batting with MS (Dhoni) and (Ravindra) Jadeja at 11:30 in the evening. I was thinking, where in the world would you do this? The lights were on, and we were just smacking balls everywhere,” Curran said on the Sky Cricket Podcast, speaking about his experience of reuniting with CSK.
Curran explained the feeling of having Dhoni within the dressing room. Admiring his aura, Curran also emphasized that Dhoni is a relaxed person to interact with.
“You have all the local players around the group, and they just sit there and watch MS. It is just the aura of the guy. He is so easy to chat with,” Curran elaborated.
“He never seems to panic. His calmness, I guess (coming from) the big moments he’s been involved in. I feel like the emotion on his face, he never really shows too much,” Curran explained.
Curran earlier played for CSK in 2020 and 2021, winning the IPL title in the latter year. Dhoni, meanwhile, was retained by CSK ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.
Having last played a game in international cricket more than five years ago, Dhoni was allowed to be retained as an uncapped player, at a price of just Rs 4 crore.
Curran added more on Dhoni’s presence in the CSK dressing room.
“Even in the hotel now, the guys always talk about how he leaves his room open, guys go and play FIFA with him, chat cricket, and stuff like that. He obviously can’t leave the hotel much because he just gets absolutely mobbed,” Curran said.
CSK have won five IPL titles to date, all under Dhoni’s captaincy, and will kickstart the IPL 2025 campaign against Mumbai Indians on Sunday, March 23.
They will be led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, who took over captaincy from Dhoni in 2024. This will be his second season as CSK captain.
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