CSK CEO Viswanathan confirms Dhoni will lead side in IPL 2023

Viswanathan told CSK TV that he was confident the team will "do well" in the upcoming edition with Dhoni leading the side.

Chennai: Indian Premier League (IPL) side Chennai Super Kings’ CEO, KS Viswanathan has confirmed that former India skipper and charismatic wicketkeeper-batter Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead the side in the 2023 edition of the lucrative T20 tournament.

Viswanathan told CSK TV that he was confident the team will “do well” in the upcoming edition with Dhoni leading the side.

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“Obviously everybody knows that Thalaivan (MS Dhoni) is the one who is going to lead the side and he will do his best and the team will do well,” said Viswanathan a day after announcing CSK’s retained and released players ahead of the 2023 IPL auction.

The Super Kings have released Dwayne Bravo, Adam Milne, Chris Jordan, N. Jagadeesan, C. Hari Nishaanth, K. Bhagat Varma, KM Asif, and Robin Uthappa, who has announced his retirement.

Viswanathan added it’s really tough to release players who have been part of several of CSK’s winning campaigns, with the franchise being “very passionate with the players”.

“It is a very tough call as far as retention is concerned. As you know that CSK has been very passionate with the players, and they have also been contributing so well for the franchise. It becomes very difficult for us to decide while releasing the players,” Viswanathan said.

“The contribution they have made to CSK will always be cherished and we know that yes, if there is an opportunity for any of them to come back, they will be back in CSK colours. See, a word to the fans is that we expect to do well. We had one bad season and the next season we won (in 2021). Hope that we will repeat the same (in 2023),” he said.

He also hoped that after two long years, CSK will finally get to play on their home ground, the MA Chidambaram Stadium. CSK won their fourth IPL title in the UAE in 2021 before a below-par performance this year saw them finish ninth in the 10-team tournament with four wins and 10 losses.

“Obviously, the last two years we were not able to play at home and the current decision is that we will be able to play in our home ground. We have taken that into account, and the team management based on that has decided to release the players,” he added.