Chennai Super Kings skipper M.S Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first against Rajasthan Royals in Match 68 of IPL 2022 at the Brabourne Stadium here on Friday.
Dhoni said he chose to bat first because he wants to give his batters time in the middle. "Our intention is to give the batters time and allow them to score without pressure. We want to win and give time to players."
Chennai made one change in the playing XI, bringing back Ambati Rayudu in place of Shivam Dube.
Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson said they were comfortable either way -- batting or bowling first. "We need to play good cricket and finish on a high," he said.
Rajasthan made one change to their playing XI, bringing in Shimron Hetmyer for James Neesham.
Playing XIs:
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali, Narayan Jagadeesan, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Mitchell Santner, Prashant Solanki, Simarjeet Singh, Matheesha Pathirana, Mukesh Choudhary.
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk) Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Obed McCoy.
Dhoni to Continue Next Year
The Chennai Super Kings skipper, who will turn 41 in July this year, even did not rule out turning out in IPL 2024 too, saying 'you can't predict what will happen two years down the line".
Dhoni confirmed about his availability for next year during toss for his team's final match in IPL 2022 against Rajasthan Royals at the Brabourne Stadium here on Friday.
Dhoni, who led Chennai Super Kings since the inception of the franchise in 2008 leading them to four IPL titles, relinquished captaincy just days before the start of IPL 2022 but had to take over the reins from Ravindra Jadeja midway through this edition of IPL as the team struggled to perform.
Asked about the possibility of his returning to play IPL next year, the former India captain who had led India to world cup titles, said he will definitely be back and the reason was simple, he wants to play again in front of the fans in Chennai.
"It's a simple reason: it will be unfair to not play in Chennai and say thank you. Mumbai is one place, where, as a team and as an individual, I have got a lot of love and affection. But it wouldn't be nice to the CSK fans.
"And also, hopefully, next year there will be an opportunity where the teams will be traveling so it will be like (saying) thank you to all the different places where we will be playing games at different venues," said Dhoni.
He then continued in the same vein and said 2023 may not be his last year in IPL.
"Whether it will be my last year or not that's a big question because you know we can't really predict about something two years down the line, but definitely I'll be working hard to come back strong next year," said Dhoni.
It is not clear whether he will return as CSK captain next year or will relinquish captaincy like this year. That would be clear if CSK manage to rope in someone who can lead the squad.