"I think this is it" - Former CSK star Matthew Hayden on MS Dhoni's IPL future

Former CSK opener Matthew Hayden has said the 2024 IPL might be MS Dhoni's last campaign, but he also feels it would be surprising not to see the talisman involved with the franchise in any official capacity from next season. The Australian played under Dhoni's leadership for the Men in Yellow from 2008 to 2010.

The southpaw, who ended the 2009 IPL as the highest run-getter with 572 runs to his name in 12 innings, was also an integral part of the CSK squad that clinched the title in the third season. Speaking to Star Sports during the Cricket Live show, 52-year-old Hayden said:

"I think this is it. I do believe that this will be the last time that Dhoni will play. Certainly, won’t be the last time that we see Dhoni. I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t mentor or be a part of the family of CSK in an official capacity."

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"As a leader, MS Dhoni is the 'Thala' of the Chennai Super Kings" - Matthew Hayden

Despite having an opportunity to qualify for the IPL 2024 playoffs, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) faltered in the last hurdle, suffering a 27-run defeat against a resurgent Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) side at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, May 18. Coming in at number eight during the 16th over of their innings while chasing 219 (201 for CSK to qualify), MS Dhoni smashed 25 runs off 13 deliveries.

However, it wasn't enough to take Ruturaj Gaikwad's men into the playoffs, as RCB secured the fourth spot despite having the same number of points (14 points) as Chennai (+0.392), but a net run rate of +0.459. Heaping praise on the former CSK captain and his phenomenal career, Hayden said:

"I suppose the thing is when you come to the end of your career, whether it is the last part of his career or not, what you don’t want to see is diminishing returns as an athlete. Firstly, as a leader, he is The Thala of the Chennai Super Kings. This is telling me that nothing here is about becoming anything else other than first place."

Further expressing his thoughts about MS Dhoni's cricketing brain, power hitting, and ability to finish games, Hayden said it is not easy to hit the ball hard towards the end of the innings like how the wicketkeeper-batter quite often does for his side. Hayden added:

"He’s desperately using his brains, all of that cricket knowledge. And of course, the power is there and that’s always been MS Dhoni. He’s always hit balls at this stage of an innings. At the front, you can understand how players can hit it. But at the back, it’s really hard to hit balls."

While Qualifier 1 is all set to be played between table toppers Kolkata Knight Riders and SunRisers Hyderabad for a direct place in the final, RCB will be facing Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator. Both these matches will take place at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium before the caravan shifts to Chepauk for Qualifier 2 and the May 26 Grand Finale.