Admitting that his loyalty was put to the test over the two-year period that the Chennai Super Kings were suspended, former India skipper and CSK captain said, “A lot of people approached me. I can't think of not coming back to CSK.” Talking about why his heart remains firmly in place with ‘Namma Chennai’, he said, “It’s because of everything- what we have been through, how we have conducted ourselves, how the management, players and fans have been. It is a second home to me. The fans over here have adopted me. They accept me as one of their own. There can't be any bigger compliment than that. This is a special place and the thought of being with any other franchise was never a question.”
No guarantee on Ashwin?
Speaking to the media in Chennai, Dhoni also spoke of the upcoming IPL auctions. While the team has decided to retain Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja in addition to himself, Dhoni said the strategy was to wait and watch. Even as fans are eager to know if Ravichandran Ashwin, the Chennai spin bowler will be retained, Dhoni said, “We will definitely go for him(Ashwin) in the auction but it is not only him but other players that we want. Ashwin being a local, we want him. We want locals to be a part of CSK. We have Bravo, Faf du plessis, Brendon McCullum.”
Explaining that the team had two right-to-match privileges wherein the team can match the final price, he said, “Ashwin will come first in the auction but as I said I will have to wait and watch but we will try to get him in the auction. At an auction, it's the price that dictates terms and how much money we can afford to go for each individual and make a strong team will be the key factor."
Captaincy after a break
When Dhoni was asked how he would fare at being a skipper after a considerable break both from the national team as well as CSK itself, he said, “A wicketkeeper is always Vice Captain. A wicketkeeper is somebody who is in a position where he watches the game very closely, what is the pace of the wicket, how the batsman is batting. Statistics have proved that keepers have been very good captains. So, I don’t see a problem in being captain.”