The decision isn’t confirmed with the team management still waiting for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to roll out the rules for the retention policy for what is believed to be the next mega auction. According to a report by Revsportz, the five-time IPL champions have named Dhoni in their five-man shortlist with the assumption of retaining at least three players and two right-to-match (RTM) cards. Along with the former CSK captain, current skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Shivam Dube, and Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana are said to be shortlisted by the franchise as its top retention picks, as per sources close to the development. How uncapped player rule can decided Dhoni’s future at CSK? Dhoni’s future in the cash-rich league will also have more to do with a lot around the uncapped player rule likely to be tweaked. In August there was a report in Times of India, the BCCI planned to bring back the old rule for uncapped players, where players retired from international cricket minimum of five-year period will fall under the uncapped category. This rule was in function from the inaugural season of the IPL with its last existence was seen in 2021. This could only benefit CSK as Dhoni announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in August 2019. The CSK talisman was retained in the IPL 2022 mega auction for INR 12 crores as the franchise’s second-choice player after Ravindra Jadeja. There is still no confirmation over the uncapped player’s rule returning back to its original shape. It will only be addressed once the BCCI reveals all the retention rules for the next big auction, which is said to be held in November most likely in an overseas nation. Dhoni has most IPL caps (258) for CSK in the 15 seasons the franchise has participated. With 5118 runs, he is the team’s second most run-scorer behind Suresh Raina (5529). He has also led CSK in 226 matches, having won 133 and lost 91 to record a win percentage of 58.84%. The ‘Yellow Brigade’ has lifted five IPL titles under Dhoni’s astute leadership (2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, 2023).