'I want to enjoy it, how I did as a child'- MS Dhoni on his future plans in cricket

Leading a side in Cricket is a big responsibility for the player. In international cricket, there have been successful captains in Indian cricket but the most successful out of all is Mahendra Singh Dhoni who is now one of the most legendary figures in not only India but the entire cricketing world.

MS Dhoni's legacy is not only filled with great match-winning knocks but he has also won three ICC titles as an Indian skipper which includes the T20 World Cup in 2007, the ODI World Cup in 2011, and the Champions Trophy in 2013. Though it has been six years since Dhoni retired from international cricket, he is still very much present in franchise cricket where he will represent Chennai Super Kings for the 16th time.

There is a lot of talk surrounding Dhoni’s future in the game to which he gave a clear answer on what is his mindset before going into the IPL this season. “I’ve retired since 2019, so it will be quite some time. What I’ve been doing in the meantime is I just want to enjoy cricket for the last, whatever few years, you know, I will be able to play,” Dhoni said on Wednesday during the launch of his app powered by Single.id.

“I want to enjoy it, how I did as a child when I was in school. When I lived in a colony, 4 o’clock (in the afternoon) was sports time, so we’ll go and play cricket more often than not but if the weather doesn’t permit, we used to play football. I want to play with the same kind of innocence… (but it is) easier said than done,” Dhoni added.  

Dhoni on his main focus as an India Cricketer

In the same interview, Dhoni also talked about his main focus while playing and representing India in international cricket and also explained how important it was for young players to keep their priorities right when representing the country in the game.

“For me as a cricketer, I always wanted to perform for the Indian cricket team because I’ve said that in the past also, that not everybody gets a chance to represent the country, For us as cricketers, whenever we went on to the big stage or whenever we were touring, there was a chance for us to win laurels for the country and so for me it was the country that always came first,” said Dhoni.

“You always need to figure out what is good for you. When I was playing, I made sure that cricket was a whole for me — nothing else mattered. What time I had to sleep? What time I had to get up? What impact it had on (my) cricket, that was the most important thing,” Dhoni concluded.