IPL 2021: "He's the biggest brand in India alongside Virat Kohli" - Brian Lara expects CSK to retain MS Dhoni for IPL 2022

Former West Indian captain Brian Lara believes the three-time IPL winning franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will look to retain their captain MS Dhoni for the 15th edition of the IPL in 2022.

The Jharkhand-born wicketkeeper-batsman has been synonymous with CSK since the inception of the cash-rich league in 2008, captaining the franchise to eight finals and three IPL titles.

Dhoni, the chief pillar of the Chennai-based team, has amassed 4728 runs at an impressive average of 39.4 runs per match in 218 IPL matches for CSK over the past decade.

Brian Lara, one of the all-time legends of the game, labeled Dhoni the biggest brand in Indian cricket alongside current Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli. While speaking with Cricket.com, Lara elucidated that despite underperforming with the bat this season, it is not the end of the road for the CSK skipper.

He said:

"I mean it's (IPL) not just franchise cricket in India. This is a brand. Dhoni, along with Virat Kohli, are the two biggest brands in India. Obviously you want to pick the best team and you want to make sure that everybody is fit and everybody is capable of performing at the highest level. Yes, Dhoni has underperformed this season but it's not the end of the road for him."

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"It's very difficult to see CSK going into the 2022 IPL without Dhoni" - Brain Lara

Lara's statement came to light after Dhoni himself made a critical divulgence at the toss during CSK's previous encounter against the Punjab Kings. MSD disclosed the uncertainties about him and the players not knowing about the retention policies next year.

MS. Dhoni, when asked if he'd be playing for CSK next year, replied:

"Well you can see me in yellow, but whether I'll be playing for CSK - there are a lot of uncertainties around it for a simple reason that we have two new teams coming up. We don't know the retention policy. We don't know how many foreigners, Indian players we can retain, the money cap that every player will be cutting from the kitty. So there are a lot of uncertainties."

However, Brian Lara opined that the Yellow franchise will definitely retain their captain. He said:

"It's very difficult to see Chennai Super Kings going into the 2022 IPL without Mahendra Singh Dhoni. So I believe in terms of the value of the brand and what he brings to the IPL and his franchise is of great value. I believe CSK will retain him if they need to retain any players."

Dhoni will fulfill his duties for his national side as a mentor in the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 after the conclusion of IPL 2021. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen what his future holds as far as IPL cricket is concerned.