Former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's childhood coach MP Singh lauded Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for retaining the wicket-keeper batter ahead of the mega auction of the upcoming season.
CSK has retained Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Moeen Ali for the IPL 2022.
Speaking to ANI, MP Singh said, "CSK retaining Dhoni is a good sign for the franchise as no team would ever want to lose their champion player and that's Dhoni for CSK. It is a player's personal choice also that whether he wants to get retained or not. Overall, it's a good decision."
The coach was present at the event in the national capital, where KFC assured support to the Indian Deaf Cricket Association (IDCA) for the World Cup 2023.
"It feels great to see that KFC will be sponsoring the deaf cricket in India. We have seen the players struggle from the beginning, and now we can see their bright future. These players are currently preparing for the Champions League in Hyderabad, followed by Champions Trophy in Qatar and World Cup 2023 in Dubai," said MP Singh.
Stay here for all the updates on the players retained by their franchises. The franchises are allowed to retain a maximum of four players, while the two new franchises, Lucknow and Ahmedabad, can acquire three from the rest of the player pool before the January auction.
With the Indian Premier League (IPL) set to undergo a mega auction next year, franchises like Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) had a tough task of retaining four players from a champion side they had built over the years. CSK zeroed in on Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Moeen Ali. CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan has revealed Ali's reaction when he was approached by the franchise for retention.
At a time when several players have been released by the franchise over the position at which they were being retained, Viswanathan revealed that Ali wanted to be retained by CSK and whether he was the No. 1 retention or 4 did not matter to him.
"When we spoke to Moeen first, he said he has been overwhelmed with the offer which was made, and he said he has not thought of any other franchise at all. That was his reaction immediately, and he said 'whether I am one, two, three or four (retention number), I don't mind, I will be there. So was the case with Rutu (Ruturaj)," Viswanathan told CSK's official website.
Ali was a key member of the CSK squad which won another IPL title in 2021. The English all-rounder played several cameos for the Yellow Army at the top of the order, and also chipped in with crucial breakthroughs every now and then.
Heaping praise on Ali, Viswanathan added, "We always had a feeling that he will be a very useful all-rounder for us, especially when we play in India. We were able to get him only last year. So it is good that he came in and was able to perform under the captaincy of MS (Dhoni)."
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