New Delhi: IPL 2021 winners Chennai Super Kings will wait for captain MS Dhoni to return to India before the team celebrates lifting the trophy for the fourth time in the league. CSK defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs on Friday at the Dubai International Stadium, but the party will take place after Dhoni is done mentoring team India for the forthcoming T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman.
Speaking to ANI, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan said there can be no celebration without the skipper. "We shall wait for the skipper to return to India. We shall happily wait as there can be no celebration without MS. He has already switched caps from CSK skipper to Team India mentor, so we shall have a small get together once he returns to India after the T20 World Cup," he said.
Dhoni hinted that he could be seen in action next year as well when he replied to Harsha Bhogale's question of 'leaving behind a legacy' by saying 'well..I still haven't left yet', during the post match presentation ceremony.
However, Dhoni also said that him playing for CSK would depend on what works best for the Chennai-based franchise.
"It depends on BCCI with two new teams coming in. Well it's not about me playing for CSK, it's about what is best for CSK. The core group that can carry the team for 10 years. Now we need to see what is best," added Dhoni.
CSK scripted a fairytale comeback this season after a disappointing performance last year to bag the IPL 2021 title but head coach Stephen Fleming still rates the triumph in 2018 as special and billed it "very emotional". The former New Zealand captain said he is very proud of the victory in this edition since many expert had dismissed CSK due to the absence of youngsters in the team.
"It's very hard to rate them, they (IPL wins) all are specials as they are results of our hard work. I think the one coming back in 2018 was very emotional but there is a lot of hard work in this one too," Fleming said during the post-match press conference. "If you look back when we were called Dad's Army in the first year (2018), I think a lot of people had no hope from us to maintain the competitiveness during this cycle."
With ANI Inputs
