IPL 2021 | MS Dhoni’s answer on his future is very different from what he said last year, says Shane Watson

Earlier this week, Dhoni announced that his fans would get a chance to bid adieu to him in the CSK kit in Chennai. However, he decided to take a U-turn on his playing career at the toss before the CSK vs Punjab Kings game. He hinted that the ongoing IPL could be his last season as a player and there are a lot of uncertainties next year as the two new teams are coming up and retention policy is unknown for now. 

"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. Unless the rules are in place you can't really decide that. We will wait for it to happen and hopefully it will be good for everyone," Dhoni answered presenter Danny Morrison.

Shane Watson in reaction to the CSK skipper’s statement, said that Dhoni’s statement could suggest that he would be in CSK colours next year but not as a player. 

"Hearing that answer from MS to me was very different to the answer he gave last year where he was very confident that yes, he will be definitely be back. Hearing him sort of talk about things such as let us see what happens at the auction and all the different sorts of permutations with two new teams coming in, that for me more so suggests that he will be in yellow still but potentially not as a player and more as a mentor, which still is a huge role in the franchise," Watson, who played under Dhoni, said on Star Sports.

Meanwhile, the two new teams will be revealed on October 25 and the mega auctions for the IPL 2022 could possibly mean there could be wholesale changes in the squads. MS Dhoni would be the mentor for the Indian team in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE and Oman. By the time IPL 2022 arrives, MS Dhoni could be eased into the mentorship role.