The Chennai Super Kings have retained skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (INR 18 crore), Matheesha Pathirana (INR 13 crore), Shivam Dube (INR 12 crore), Ravindra Jadeja (INR 18 crore), and MS Dhoni. Dhoni’s retention dominated headlines and the Rs 4 crore price tag attracted a lot of interest among fans and experts. The new IPL rule states that any player who has not played for India in the previous five years would be regarded as ‘uncapped’. Former Indian cricketers Mohammad Kaif and Sanjay Manjrekar, on the other hand, made amusing comments about the Dhoni rule.
CSK have played admirably. They have saved around 10-15 crores. I believe this regulation was reinstated because we were all motivated by emotion and wanted MS Dhoni to play another year…I believe CSK performed admirably there. Yes, he is accepting less money, but this would allow CSK to purchase high-profile players in the auction,” he remarked on JioCinema.
“I believe that whichever guy plays for India, and I was 36 when I last played an international match for India… if I am dropped from the team but continue to have a solid IPL run, I should not be considered an uncapped player. These are the players who have not yet played an international match. Yeh, CSK walein bariyan. And they played it so wonderfully that we all grew emotional after getting the chance to see Dhoni for another year in the IPL. I believe CSK gained an advantage by purchasing two additional players in the auction,” he added.
Manjrekar further stated that under the new regulation, both Kaif and himself will be deemed ‘uncapped’ cricketers. “This has been a reincarnation of Dhoni, as this rule has been reintroduced solely to bring him back. “The good news is that you (Kaif) and I are both uncapped,” he said.