We are still a long time away from IPL 2025. But Chennai Super Kings have already started planning for the future. According to reports, the Yellove franchise is in contact with the captain of Delhi Capitals, Rishabh Pant and is planning to make him the leader of their sporting project. Wait, does that mean MS Dhoni would no longer be a part of the franchise?! Has Thala decided to step into the shadows once and for all?
Well, the IPL season is a long way ahead but the preparation for it has already started in various camps ahead of the IPL Mega Auction scheduled for the next season. Teams are supposed to submit their retention lists before the auction starts with the tentative dates being December 2024 – January 2025. For Delhi Capitals it would seem as if it’s a straightforward decision to retain Rishabh Pant.
Pant is DC’s most capped player and their highest run scorer in IPL history. The Delhi-lad has starred for his hometown franchise for almost a decade now, after bursting onto the scene for Delhi Capitals(then Daredevils) in the 2016 season. With only 2 years played in the IPL, Rishabh Pant won the 2018 Emerging Player award for Delhi Capitals.
But this wonderful partnership which saw him leading the franchise after the departure of Shreyas Iyer might come to an end in 2025. According to various sources, Rishabh Pant has a verbal agreement in place with the Chennai franchise and it would see him get the top retainment spot for CSK if the deal goes through. For the switch to happen, Rishabh Pant needs to NOT feature on the retaining list for Delhi Capitals as they’ll have the last say in this deal.
CSK seem to be confident in getting their target as they believe he is the right man to fill in the spot left vacant by a certain MS Dhoni. The left-handed wicketkeeping batsman will be a like-for-like replacement for MSD. Another important detail is that there is no captaincy offer on the table as of yet. So the captaincy spot for CSK is still in the hands of Ruturaj Gaikwad, though it will be interesting to see who handles the reign if Rishabh Pant comes into the franchise.
While his arrival remains uncertain for now, it would surely mean the end of MS Dhoni in the team. No franchise in their right mind would retain a 43-year-old Thala ahead of others in their right mind; not even CSK. But that doesn’t mean he might not be there at all. As he could very well be a part of the coaching staff of his beloved franchise. So all Thalasons can still see the big man on the screen once in a while as Rishabh Pant takes over his responsibilities on the field.
