Will MS Dhoni represent Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2018? Here is what you need to know

MS Dhoni is one of the most loved cricketers in India and when it comes to Indian Premier League (IPL), the Jharkhand man is treated as Chennai's son. Dhoni helped Chennai Super Kings (CSK) win two titles in his eight-year stint with the franchise, but with the suspension of CSK from the last two editions, Chennai has missed IPL action and also Dhoni. 

CSK will make a return in IPL 2018 after serving a two-year suspension. Dhoni played for Rising Pune Supergiants in IPL 2016 and IPL 2017, but the former India captain, who has close connections with the franchise, will be eager to ply his trade for CSK in IPL 2018. RPS and Gujarat Lions were the two teams that replaced CSK and Rajasthan Royals in the last two seasons.

The Chennai-based franchise will obviously want Dhoni in their side, but CSK will need to hear from the IPL Governing Council about the retention policy. It is a tricky situation even more so for CSK and Royals as they were not a part of last two editions.

It remains to be seen how the organisers will deal with the situation. Will CSK and Rajasthan Royals be given the chance to retain players from RPS and Gujarat Lions before the auction? Will all the eight teams be allowed to retain one or more players for IPL 2018? 

"Obviously we want MSD and our core back. The IPL Governing Council is yet to announce the player retention policy going forward, and so we will only have to wait until then," The News Minute quoted senior CSK official as saying.

CSK, who have been one of the best teams in the IPL, will always look to build a strong team for next season and include their core players. However getting all those core players from few season back may not be an easy task with most of them set to be included in the fresh auction for the next edition.

In the past auctions as well, teams were always given the chance to retain some of their players, meaning they could stop the player from going into the auction pool. Teams took advantage of that situation and kept their best players with them, and looked for new players in the auction.

However, there is no certainty when it comes to retention ahead of IPL 2018. The IPL governing council are yet to make anything official on the matter related to it. Teams, reportedly, have already expressed the importance of retention system to be followed ahead of IPL 2018 auction as well.

As of now, there is no clarity on the matter. But, one thing is for sure, even if one or two players are only allowed to be retained by all eight franchises, CSK will go all out to retain Dhoni.