“Can a player like Dhoni play as an uncapped player?” – Ravichandran Ashwin opens up on intriguing possibility

India’s veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has opened up on the possibility of Chennai Super Kings retaining their former skipper MS Dhoni as an uncapped player. Dhoni last played an international match against New Zealand in the semifinal of the ODI World Cup 2019.

Dhoni then decided to retire from limited-overs format on August 15, 2020, calling time on his glorious career. From 2008 to 2021, there was an IPL rule that a player, who has been retired for more than five years, could be taken as an uncapped player.

During a recent meeting between the BCCI and the IPL owners on 31st July, CSK suggested that the same rule should be brought back before the IPL 2025 mega auction.

“Will Dhoni play as an uncapped player? That’s a big question mark. The point is correct. He hasn’t played international cricket for many years. He has retired. So, he is an uncapped player. He is not a capped player. Can a player like Dhoni play as an uncapped player? That is another conversation. Obviously, if someone talks about Dhoni, everyone will talk about it,” Ravichandran Ashwin said on his YouTube Channel.

While noting that most of the foreign players make them available for the IPL mini-auction to get a higher bid, Ashwin wants the IPL governing council to take a look into this.

“There is a new fun rule coming up that is going to change everything. I am saying this clearly. What do all the foreign players do? Skipping the mega auction. Today is the mega auction. I am going to farm in my city. Instead of coming to the auction, I will come to the mini-auction to build a house in Sydney for this mini-auction. Tomorrow, I am buying the Maldives. The day after tomorrow, I am buying a ship in Fiji. They have come to the mini-auction so far. What they are saying is that the highest value of an Indian player is your value. You can go for as much as you want.”

Meanwhile, Ashwin bagged nine wickets in 15 matches for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024.