MS Dhoni, the 4-time IPL title-winning captain of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), has decided to take a pay cut for the next season of the IPL as he is all set to lead the men in yellow once again in their title defense.
Dhoni, whenever he has been retained by CSK in the past, has always been their first retention for the simple reason that he is one of the greatest superstars to have ever played the game. However, having retired from international cricket now and not being CSK’s best player anymore, the 40-year-old felt he shouldn’t be the first retained player of the franchise.
There were speculations if Dhoni was thinking about retiring as a player after a successful IPL campaign last season, but it was being insisted by the CSK management time and again that they wanted Dhoni to continue in his role as skipper and as it turned out, Dhoni agreed to be retained eventually, but not as the first retention.
Rather than Dhoni, it’s CSK’s star allrounder Ravindra Jadeja now who is their first retention and will be getting a salary of 16 crore INR, while Dhoni, who was receiving 15 crore INR from his previous contract with CSK, will now get 12 crore INR as the second retention.
MS Dhoni has dropped no hints of retirement yet
Apart from Jadeja and Dhoni, Moeen Ali and Ruturaj Gaikwad are the 3rd and the 4th retained player of CSK and will be receiving a salary of 8 crore INR and 6 crore INR respectively. While Moeen had given CSK the much-needed balance last season with his top-order batting and off-spin bowling, Ruturaj was the highest run-scorer of the tournament with more than 600 runs.
It will be interesting to see if IPL 2022 will be MS Dhoni’s last IPL season or he plays beyond. A few days ago, he had said that his last game would be at Chepauk, whether it’s next year or after 5 years. So, he has not dropped any hints about his retirement yet.
Here is how Twitter reacted when CSK announced that MS Dhoni would take a pay cut for IPL 2022 –
#CSK 's #Dhoni agreed for a pay cut and allowed #Jadeja to be the 1st pick/highest salaried player for ₹ 16 Crs.. #Dhoni got ₹ 12 Crs..
Team first – always for #Dhoni #IPL2022Retention
— Ramesh Bala (@rameshlaus) December 1, 2021
#CSK 's #Dhoni agreed for a pay cut and allowed #Jadeja to be the 1st pick/highest salaried player for ₹ 16 Crs.. #Dhoni got ₹ 12 Crs..#IPL2022Retention pic.twitter.com/QezLhCLfL9
— JAGADESH J (@itsjagahere) December 1, 2021
Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni being amazing leaders by opting for pay cuts to help their franchise.
— 𝔪𝔞𝔩𝔦𝔥𝔞•☾ (@xoxomaliha) November 30, 2021
Wowww dhoni taken pay cut 👍
— Gladiator (@johnsmithMA) November 30, 2021
Jadeja gets an price hike Dhoni gets a pay cut. Ali makes sense too. And good that didn't let Ruturaj go in the auction and a very well deserved price hike. Very happy about the retention. #CSK #IPLAuction
— KitabiKeera📚 (@PariSnitchRaina) November 30, 2021
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has kept Ravindra Jadeja ahead of him and has decided to play for Chennai Super Kings with a pay cut 🙌
What a gesture 🙇#IPLAuction2022 pic.twitter.com/GyCsSuySd1
— Animesh Kaushal (@Animesh_kaushal) November 30, 2021
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has kept Ravindra Jadeja ahead of him and has decided to play for Chennai Super Kings with a pay cut 🙌
What a gesture 🙇
Respect 🙏🙏🙏🙏#IPLretention #IPL2022Retention #IPLAuction2022— Mimo Sk (@mimosk27) November 30, 2021
Rohit, Pant and Jadeja are the highest paid Indian players in this #IPLretention
Pay cuts for Kohli & Dhoni. Retained for 15 Cr. and 12 Cr. respectively…— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) November 30, 2021
Remember this moment? CSK 🥳
Jadeja and MS Dhoni #IPLretention #IPLAuction2022 #Dhoni pic.twitter.com/nzQyCDYaB0— Amit Kumar (@MrAmit1086) November 30, 2021
Jadeja gets an price hike Dhoni gets a pay cut. Ali makes sense too. And good that didn't let Ruturaj go in the auction and a very well deserved price hike. Very happy about the retention. #CSK #IPLAuction
— KitabiKeera📚 (@PariSnitchRaina) November 30, 2021
Rohit, Pant and Jadeja are the highest paid Indian players in this #IPLretention
Pay cuts for Kohli & Dhoni. Retained for 15 Cr. and 12 Cr. respectively…— आदर्श दीक्षित (@dixitadarsh1) November 30, 2021