IPL 2020: What's next for MS Dhoni and CSK after 'definitely not' announcement?

MS Dhoni confirmed that he'll be part of CSK for the next IPL [PC: iplt20.com]

Beloved commentator Danny Morrison has provided some entertaining moments at the toss over the years. The latest instalment of his mischief saw him unabashedly ask Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni if he was playing his final game for the team against the Kings XI Punjab.

"Definitely not!" - this was Dhoni's smiling, unthinking response. Since the man himself has said it, there's now no doubt surrounding his future in the IPL. When the tournament rolls around once again early next year, the former Indian captain will don his beloved yellow and lead his pride out into the middle.

But after a poor season in which CSK have finished close to the bottom of the IPL 2020 points table, what's next for MS Dhoni and CSK?

CSK's ageing squad impossible to improve without a mega-auction

Faf du Plessis is among the only senior players to still be fit and in form [PC: iplt20.com]

CSK have managed to get to two IPL finals with their ageing squad, but a third season in unforeseen circumstances proved to be too much for their old guard to adjust to. Although a return to India and the short break between the two editions of the IPL will certainly help those on the wrong side of 30, it's difficult to see CSK play out another high-octane tournament by depending on their senior players.

Faf du Plessis was arguably the only player who maintained certain standards with the bat and in the field, and almost all others disappointed. Ambati Rayudu struggled with his fitness and fielding, Shane Watson was far from his best, Piyush Chawla was inaccurate, and so on.

Most shocking among the underperformers was MS Dhoni himself. The 39-year-old scored only 200 runs at an average of 25 and a strike rate of 116.27, and failed to clear the boundary at will the was he once used to be able to. Stuck on the crease against the spinners and unable to find his timing against the pacers, Dhoni struggled almost every time he was in the middle.

It's easy to believe that a cricketer of the stature of MS Dhoni will be able to turn things around, but the same cannot be said for the other thirty-plus players CSK house. The Men in Yellow need to move towards a more youthful, energetic side who have things to prove, and the only way to do that is via a mega-auction.

Apart from CSK, all other teams have a number of young players around whom they're building, and these players won't be anywhere near the pool in a regular auction. More importantly, in the absence of a mega-auction, CSK won't be able to find a successor to MS Dhoni, since there's no one on hand in the current squad.

MS Dhoni's retirement must align with the next mega-auction

Who will succeed MS Dhoni at CSK? [PC: iplt20.com]

Faf du Plessis is perhaps the only viable option to succeed MS Dhoni at CSK. He may have claimed after the victory over the Kings XI Punjab that he has 5 more years of cricket left in him, but he's by no means a long-term solution.

CSK will need to look outside the existing group of players for a captain - someone who will fit into the culture at the team alongside Stephen Fleming and MS Dhoni (if he opts to remain associated with the team post retirement, which looks likely).

This period of transition will, of course, be hard on CSK. A leader who has been part of the team right from the very first game cannot be replaced in an instant, and Dhoni's role in this period becomes paramount once again, just like it was with the Indian cricket team. The CSK skipper's retirement must, therefore, align itself with the next mega-auction.

Reports claim that the mega-auction, which was initially supposed to be held ahead of IPL 2021, has been postponed by a year considering the current social climate. This wouldn't be a bad decision to make, and should this be the case, Dhoni might opt to either retire or step down from captaincy when it happens.

Few know what goes on inside the inscrutable man's head, and the circumstances surrounding him walking away from CSK might depend on a variety of factors. Dhoni might want to go out on a high, and he even might opt to re-enter the mega-auction pool and make his way back to CSK.

Either way, it's clear that CSK can't afford to wait any longer than the next mega-auction to shake things up. Not only Dhoni, but the entire squad needs an overhaul. CSK will, in all probability, choose to build around their young core of players such as Sam Curran, Ruturaj Gaikwad and N Jagadeesan.

What does the near future hold for CSK?

The passing of the torch [PC: iplt20.com]

For IPL 2021, which rolls around in just another few months, CSK will have to trim their squad a little bit and try to take baby steps towards their rebuild (provided there's no mega-auction).

Players like Murali Vijay and Kedar Jadhav, who were greatly disappointing in IPL 2020, may be on their way out. Overseas professionals like Shane Watson and Dwayne Bravo, who've served CSK well over the years, may not have a future at the team as well. Both players have able successors in Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sam Curran, and their importance to the team has anyway dwindled over the past year or two.

The futures of Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh are still up in the air, and the venue of the upcoming IPL might play a major role in their decision to participate.

Although CSK finished near the bottom of the points table, they were only a win or two away from a playoff berth in an edition of the IPL that was undoubtedly the most competitive in history. IPL 2021 is certainly a tournament in which CSK can contend for the title, even if they're not billed as favourites like they usually are.

Some smart buys in the auction (like Sam Curran from this year) and some hard work in the nets on the part of CSK's seasoned pros could see them give their captain a glorious swansong.