Stephen Fleming breaks silence on MS Dhoni’s retirement speculation: ‘I don’t even ask him…’

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming dismissed all speculation surrounding MS Dhoni‘s retirement, saying the wicketkeeper-batter is still going strong. His comments came following the five-time champions’ loss against Delhi Capitals by 25 runs in the Match No.17 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 edition at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

CSK stumbled to their third consecutive loss in the 18th edition of the cash-rich league as the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side failed to chase down 184 against Axar Patel’s Delhi Capitals.

As soon as the fixture between Delhi Capitals and CSK began at Chepauk, rumours mills were rife that Dhoni might possibly announce his retirement after the end of the game. The speculation gathered further steam after Dhoni’s parents were spotted attending the match in Chennai.

During the post-match press conference, CSK coach Fleming was asked about Dhoni’s possible retirement. He replied, “No, that’s not my role to put an end to it. I have no idea. I’m just enjoying working with him still. He’s still going strong. I don’t even ask these days. You are the ones who ask.”

In the match against Delhi Capitals, Dhoni came out to bat at No.7. The right-handed batter remained unbeaten on 30 off 26 balls, including one four and one six. However, the 43-year-old showed no intent to get boundaries at regular intervals despite the asking run rate going above 15 at one point.

Ultimately, Dhoni and Vijay Shankar formed an unbeaten sixth-wicket partnership of 84 runs. The latter remained unbeaten on 69 off 54 balls. However, this effort did not prove enough, and the hosts faced a defeat.

When Gaikwad was asked about the lack of the intent by the middle order, the CSK captain at the post-match presentation said, “Since powerplay we were always playing the catch up game. We were too far behind and we only had one batter left. DC bowled really well and used the conditions really well. Even when Shivam Dube was batting we were looking for momentum but it just didn’t happen.”

Earlier, Dhoni was retained as an uncapped player by the franchise for INR 4 crore.

CSK top-order fails again

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) top order failed to rise to the challenge once again, as Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, and Ruturaj Gaikwad lost their wickets cheaply.

After the loss, Gaikwad accepted that his team needed to step up and that the batting performance in the powerplay needed to be better.

“Since the last few games, it’s not going our way. We are trying to improve, trying our best,t but not going our way. Definitely lost too many wickets. It’s a major concern even in the bowling department. We are giving way 15-20 runs extra or losing too many wickets. We are trying, but it’s just not happening,” said Gaikwad.

“I just think that we are slightly over concerned or tentative whoever is bowling in powerplay. And with the bat obviously you don’t want to lose an extra wicket but it’s just about being positive. I think it’s about being on the back foot and not being on the toes. Everyone needs to come together to make things happen. We need to make things happen,” he added.