IPL: How MS Dhoni evolved his game with CSK to stay relevant even in 2023

"The tough thing for me is to work hard for another nine months and come back and play at least one more season of IPL. But a lot depends on the body, I have six-seven months to decide and it will be more like a gift from my side [to the fans]. It's not easy for me but the way they've shown their love and affection, that's something I need to do for them," said MS Dhoni, as he led Chennai Super Kings to their fifth IPL title with win over Gujarat Titans.

The charismatic leader, whose battings prowess has been on the wane with age, has persevered to play in the ongoing season through a knee injury. He has batted only 57balls this season, the least in his 15-IPL career yet. However, fans all over the country have cheered every single one of his 10 sixes through the season even as he got out for a first-ball duck in the final showdown.

What stands out most this season about Dhoni is his strike of 182.46 - his best in IPL career. It shows how the wicketkeeper-batsman has evolved his play, yet again, to meet the cruel demands of a game which takes a split second to show one the mirror of reality.

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How Dhoni evolved his game in 2023

Great players like Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Stephen Fleming and others played the game when it was different. When it still needed an anchor and another player could hit the ball. Dhoni, who first played in 2003 for India, became famous as a dangerous finisher. He always tried to take the game deep but with time, going slow in the middle wasn't an option anymore.

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After retiring from all forms of international cricket, Mahi, as he is called fondly, adapted and started batting down the order, at 6, 7 or 8th position and tried maximizing whatever number of balls he got to play.

In 2023, his highest score's been 32 not out - which is 1/3rd of his runs in the season so far. He has scored just 104 runs in 2023, but the impact he has made along withkeeping and captaincy - Dhoni has been nothing short of spectacular.

Here are MS Dhoni's stats from the 2023 season

The phenom batted 11 times in 15 games before the finaland remained not out eight of those times. His strike rate, for which players even the likes of Virat Kohli are getting criticised, was under 100 only three times when he batted. And the same number was above 200 four times, with two of them even being above 300.

What next for Dhoni?

Along with his latest play of sending the ball out as soon as he walks in to bat, Dhoni's six catches and three stumping and two run-outs have just been icing on the cake and we haven't even discussed what he brings as a captain.

"That's the beauty of him. With his mind, and the kind of way he uses the bowlers, he will make sure that you feel like he is adding ten runs extra in the score," said Hardik Pandya, the losing captain against CSK in Qualifier One.

MS Dhoni's captaincy is what forms a huge part of the legacy he has today, and with Dhoni confirming that he'll be with CSK always, be it as a player or outside and the Impact Player rule - it is completely possible that we might see Dhoni on the field a couple more seasons and if not, his seat in the dugout is confirmed for sure.

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