"Emotional": CSK icon MS Dhoni on his connection with franchise

New Delhi [India], May 20 (ANI): Former Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni talked about his love for the franchise and feels his strength is the emotional connection that he has with the five-time champions.
Dhoni has gone down in the history books of the Super Kings as an icon in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
He talked about the connection he shared with the franchise which has been built for more than a decade.
"My connection with CSK, it's an emotional connection. It's not like a player who comes, plays a couple of months and goes back home, my strength is the emotional connection," Dhoni said in a video posted by Dubai Eye 103.8 on YouTube.
After CSK crashed out of the IPL 2024, there have been speculations building around his possible involvement. Dhoni has remained tight-lipped about the future leaving fans guessing about his future.
Amid the ongoing speculations, the CSK management has expressed their hope of watching Dhoni in the next season.
"He is still batting so well. He does prepare well - he gets into the camp very early and hits a lot of balls. He has been in good touch all season really. I guess we just got to try to manage him from the body side of things. He had a knee surgery after the last season. So he has been managing that from the initial stage of the tournament," CSK batting coach Michael Hussey said earlier.
Due to knee surgery last year, CSK have been managing Dhoni's workload throughout the ongoing season. He came out to bat when a handful of deliveries were left.
Yet he put up staggering figures in 14 matches. Dhoni amassed 161 runs at an average of 53.67 and a whopping strike rate of 220.55.
After Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) sent CSK out of the race for playoffs, bowling consultant Eric Simons heaped praise on the veteran power-hitter.
"But I think anybody wants to speculate about his future, that is crazy. MS knows what he is going to do. I know that this year I have seen him hit the ball from the pre-tournament camp. So he is playing extremely well and he will make the decision. But he is a fantastic guy to be around. He has been fantastic to witness from the days I was with India and now with CSK. He is an incredible cricketer and an incredible individual in terms of his understanding of cricket and life. I think in many ways that what he passes on to guys is the incredible self-belief, never say die and a simple understanding of the game of cricket he can put it in simple words and I think that is one of the best things about him," Simons said in the post-match press conference.
As of now uncertainty still revolves around the future of Dhoni and only he can tell if he would feature in the next edition. (ANI)