'He has given his blood, sweat, and everything to this team' - Harbhajan Singh accentuates MS Dhoni's importance to CSK

Describing MS Dhoni's legend is a daunting task; he's been the heartbeat of the Chennai Super Kings since their inception. Through the years, he's skippered and led the Men in Yellow to victory on five occasions, a feat on par with the Mumbai Indians. Having concluded his international career at the Cricket World Cup 2019, he has since focused solely on the IPL.

At the time, he firmly rejected retirement inquiries with a simple "Definitely Not". After clinching the record-equalling fifth title in Ahmedabad last year, he decided to extend his IPL stint for another year for the Chennai faithful. Nonetheless, his future plans remain known only to himself. With the culmination of another IPL season on the horizon, the spotlight has once again turned to the topic of MS Dhoni’s future.

Former India cricketer, Harbhajan Singh, who has also played under Dhoni in the IPL during the former's stint with CSK for three seasons (2018-20), had his response ready to be unveiled while speaking on Star Sports' Press Room show.

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Harbhajan went so far as to assert that Dhoni was the team's proprietor. He also pointed out that the team's focal point has always been him, and that it's built around him, as well as the fact that he's given his all for the sake of the team. The former office was confident regarding Dhoni being associated with the CSK camp in one form or another in the seasons to come; whether as a mentor or a coach. Highlighting the guiding light that he's been to other players of the esteemed franchise, Harbhajan felt the franchise would not want to part ways with him, keeping him associated with the unit in some capacity or the other.

“He’s the owner of the team. Uske marzi ke bina waha patta bhi nahi hilta. It’s his team. He has given his blood, sweat and everything to this team. He will always be a part of the CSK group, whether as a mentor or as a coach. He’s everything over thereYou will definitely see him in the CSK dugout in the coming seasons. Maybe not as a player but in some other capacity, but he will be there with the players," he added.

He's definitely going to be there, for sure: Rayudu on Dhoni

Ambati Rayudu, who was on the same talk show as Harbhajan, couldn't agree more, reiterating the latter's belief stating that even he felt that the team was Dhoni and the 42-year-old was the architect and the mediator of the ethos which CSK is known to be capacitated with.

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“Bhajji pa rightly said! That's his team. He developed the culture that’s there at present. He has been nurturing players in that franchise, and he is definitely going to be there, for sure," remarked Rayudu.