IPL 2023: MS Dhoni is not yet finished

In 2023, despite having very little opportunity to bat in the middle, Chennai Super King’s captain MS Dhoni’s strike rate of 204.26 (after 11 matches) is the highest he has ever recorded in his sixteen years long IPL career.

IPL-2023 belongs to MS Dhoni. It feels like a major event in 2023 every time MS Dhoni steps out to bat in the Indian Premier League. Every single run from his willow have been appreciated with massive cheers sounding like thunderbolts and it has been absolute mayhem inside every stadium across the country.

Several cricketing venues of our country has turned yellow this season to bid farewell to one of the greatest sportsman the world has ever produced. The crowd has gone absolutely berserk whenever boundaries flew from the blades of Dhoni.

Interestingly, in this IPL season itself, MS Dhoni has created and broken records. This time they are not records of any batting or wicket keeping. But it is viewership records which are constantly in danger when MS comes to strike. He infact broke his own record while smashing two collosal maximums off three balls in his knock against Lucknow Super Giants ( LSG). The viewership on Jio Cinema, IPL’s digital broadcaster, reached a staggering 1.7 crore, beating the previous record of 1.6 crore also held by Dhoni during his knock against Gujarat Titans in the inaugural match of the tournament.

Dhoni’s future steps

While there are clouds of uncertainties hanging over his future, MS himself has dropped various clues on multiple post-match presentations that IPL 2023 is his adieu season. After the win against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai the former team India skipper said: “Whatever said and done, it is the last phase of my career, important to enjoy it. It feels good to be here. They have given a lot of love and affection. They always stay late to listen to me.”

Still there are lot of mysteries regarding his retirement after MS made a cryptic comment to Danny Morrison saying “Well, you have decided its my last’,’ during the coin toss at Ekana Cricket stadium in Lucknow.

“I’d be extremely surprised if this is MS Dhoni’s last IPL” stated Kevin Pietersen after CSK’s last home game at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Some unexpected events soon followed when the legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar ran and followed MS for an autograph.

“When I got to know about Chennai Super Kings and MS Dhoni are going to take a lap of honour at Chepauk, I decided to create a special memory,” the veteran batter told Star Sports.“That’s why I ran towards MSD to take his autograph. It was his last home game at Chepauk. Of course, he will get a chance to play here if CSK qualifies for the playoffs. But I decided to make that moment special,” he added.

Speaking about Dhoni on Jio Cinema, Graeme Smith told,” This Season, he has found his best again”.

Dhoni also faced the fewest balls per innings in 2023, which means he hardly ever batted in the middle. The best in his IPL history by far, he has smashed a six on average every 4.7 balls he has faced in 2023.

Balls/six in IPL 2023 (Min 10 sixes)

Player	Inns	SR	6s	Balls / six
MS Dhoni (CSK)	8	204.25	10	4.70
GJ Maxwell (RCB)	11	186.44	27	6.56
S Dube (CSK)	10	159.89	27	7.30
AD Russell (KKR)	11	154.07	16	8.44
H Klaasen (SRH)	7	185.34	13	8.92
JM Sharma (PBKS)	11	160.49	18	9.00
TH David (MI)	11	165.74	12	9.00
N Pooran (LSG)	11	160	17	9.12
SO Hetmyer (RR)	11	145.33	16	9.38
NT Tilak Varma (MI)	9	158.38	18	9.61

It’s obvious that the responsibilities have altered. Prior to the last couple of overs, he has hardly left the dressing room and taken the pitch. Actually, these days, he seems to prefer to bat in the last few overs. One could speculate that the depth of CSK’s powerful batting lineup and his own fitness problems due to a questionable knee are a couple of the possible causes.

MAHI MAAR RAHA HAIN!

Maybe he is the only one who knows when to hang up his boots, as has generally been the case. However, one thing is for sure. At 41, Mahi is striking the ball as well as he ever did in his cricketing career. It is quite evident that the world’s greatest finisher is still finishing games at will. Putting the dancing shoes on, he has made every bowler pay for their mistakes. From the streets of Calcutta to the balconies of Ahmedabad, from the pavements of Kashmir to the pubs of Goa, from the restaurants of Hyderabad to the lanes of Varanasi, MS has made the entire nation to exult and cheer “MAHI MAAR RAHA HAIN!’’.

Year	MAT	SR
2023	12	204.26
2013	18	162.89
2011	16	158.70
2018	16	150.66
2014	16	148.40
2010	13	136.66
Career	245	136.07
2016	14	135.23
2019	15	134.62
2008	16	133.54
2012	19	128.77
2009	14	127.20
2022	14	123.40
2015	17	121.96
2020	14	116.27
2017	16	116.00
2021	16	106.54

Mahi has become synonymous with IPL 2023. Rather we can call it ” Mahi IPL 2023″ than Tata IPL 2023.This man is nevertheless fascinating and captivating even as he gets older. Be it a corporate from Deloitte or a samosa vendor from Tolichowki, a HCU student or a four year old kid ; a fashion designer or a retired banker everyone is hooked into their TV sets when this man from Ranchi takes the centre stage. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is making the world notice and say “It doesn’t matter how you start in life, but finish it like Dhoni”.