This is a swansong that is rolling out in episodes and years. With “Definitely Nots”, “One last time” Morse-coded tees and probable leaps of faith, MS Dhoni has played 53 IPL matches in three-and-a-half seasons since turning 40 in 2021. That is an extensive IPL career packed within itself, level with 23-year-old sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal’s tally in five seasons from debut and ahead of 581 players who have ever appeared in the league.
When his batting season ended with a golden duck with a chip to cover in the IPL 2023 final that Chennai Super Kings eventually clinched off the last ball, Dhoni and his dodgy knee had a bittersweet exit point ready before him. That was until he reloaded for 2024, literally, with more muscle in his game.
And yet when he skied a Yash Dayal bumper to deep backward-square and CSK went crashing out of the Playoffs race in their final game last season in Bengaluru, Dhoni would be deprived of that ‘Thala’ climax.
The farewell question is only a sub-plot as the CSK talisman enters a fresh cycle this Sunday. If anything, Dhoni’s cameos and traces of ineffective death bowling from opponents, have renewed his confidence in running another mile in the world’s most competitive T20 league.
Partly lost in CSK’s middling 2024 season was Dhoni’s effectiveness in his retrenched finishing role. Thanks to the Impact Player injection, Dhoni’s entry points were predominantly plotted around the last four overs, bread and butter in his heyday. But even at 43, Dhoni’s death-over mastery put most oppositions to the sword. A glance at the numbers and you’ll have him jostling among the best after the two quickest-scoring editions of the tournament.
Of the seven batters who have piled on at least 250 runs at the death (17-20) since 2023, Dhoni’s colossal 209.83 strike rate ranks the best, even overshadowing the South African heavyweight, Heinrich Klaasen (209.02). In the 23 innings he has played in this period, nearly 93 percent (122 of 130 balls) of Dhoni’s batting was restricted to the death. Dhoni pumped 23 of them over the fence, a maximum every 5.3 deliveries, the best of the aforementioned bracket of finishers in the two editions.
That this improbable 40s resurgence has willed itself on the back of his two poorest IPL seasons between 2020-21 (112.5 strike rate), makes the Dhoni situation more than a mere summer stopover for CSK.