MS Dhoni has once again left his fans guessing on the prospect of playing yet another season of IPL. There has been wide-spread speculation that the IPL 2023 might be Dhoni's last. Whether it is Kolkata, Jaipur or Lucknow, the support for Dhoni and CSK has been immense. Dhoni himself said that this is the 'last phase' of his career. However, there has been no official confirmation from either Dhoni or CSK's side regarding the same.At the toss of the IPL 2023 match against Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow, Dhoni was asked by Danny Morrison: "Clearly this wonderful swansong tour, your last. How are you enjoying it?" MS Dhoni said: "You have decided it is my last (smiles). Not me. We'll bowl first. The fact that wicket was under covers and it looks a bit tacky, so we'll look to bowl first. You have to see all conditions and venue. For us, Deepak (Chahar) is fit, so he comes in for Akash (Singh). Rest of the team is the same."
Last year, Dhoni had said he it won’t be nice to retire without saying goodbye to Chennai fans at Chepauk.“Definitely, I will play next year. It would be unfair not to say thank you to Chennai, to not play in Chennai. It won’t be nice to the CSK fans. Whether 2023 will be my last year or not, that is something we will have to see," he had sais last year.Dhoni is playing his first ever professional match at the Ekana Cricket Stadium and to mark the occassion, he was presented with a memento by BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla.