'We'll have to see what his commitments are' - Suresh Raina on prospects of MS Dhoni playing IPL 2024

The IPL 2023 fever has started among the fans with the first match starting on March 31st, and this year, CSK will be playing at their home ground after a long gap, and hence, MS Dhoni's fans would surely make it a full house at the Chepauk stadium in Chennai. The talk of the town lately is whether this will be MS Dhoni's last season or not.

There has been a lot of speculation that this might be the former Indian captain's last season, but there hasn't been any official announcement from the CSK management yet. Meanwhile, former India and CSK batter Suresh Raina believes that MS Dhoni might continue to play the next IPL season for CSK.

“I wish he could, but we'll have to see what his commitments are, He can play the IPL next year as well, you never know," Raina was quoted as saying at the LLC Masters by NDTVSports.

Raina also spoke about Dhoni's fitness and the strengths of the team ahead of the IPL 2023, considering Chennai has a mix of both experience and youth.

“He's been batting well and looking fit, it depends on how the performance is this year. It may be a little challenging since him and (Ambati) Rayudu haven't played the tournament since one year. I think the team is quite strong, a lot of young players are coming through the ranks. (Ruturaj) Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja), (Ben) Stokes, Deepak Chahar…and there are more young and dynamic players in that side. Let's see how they play,” he added.

I hope Dhoni does well and makes them win: Raina

Raina also threw light on how he is keeping in touch with Dhoni over phone calls and added that the former India skipper is grinding hard on the field these days. The Chennai Super Kings take on Gujarat Titans in the opening match of the IPL 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on March 31st.

“He picks, we stay in touch (laughs). Haa…jamke practice kar rahe hai (yes, he's been practicing really hard), you must have seen the videos of him (on CSK social media handles). The way he is playing the big shots (in the nets). I hope he does well and makes them win," Raina said.

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