The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reintroduced a rule for the uncapped category of Indian players ahead of IPL Auction 2025.

The reintroduction of this rule, originally implemented in 2008 and scrapped in 2021, has reignited hopes among CSK fans for their beloved "Thala" to continue his IPL journey.

The board has kept team owners happy, and yet ensured the competitiveness and profile of the mega auction is not hampered

BCCI’s IPL retention rules reveal that a capped Indian player becomes uncapped if not in the starting XI for five years. MS Dhoni, last playing in July 2019, is now uncapped, potentially saving CSK ₹4 crore during the auction.

The Baroda all-rounder quipped that IPL is getting “stronger”. “Last two years I kept talking abt this. it’s Great to see the decision taken by BCCI! Players who declare unavailability after being picked in the auction will now face a two-year ban.

Governing Council (GC) released the new rules regarding the retention policies ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, which is likely to be held around the later stages of November, 2024. With the mega action time nearing,

Mumbai: Ahead of the IPL mega auction, each team can retain a maximum of 5 players. One player can also be acquired through Right to Match (RTM). That is, a team can retain six players. The biggest feature is that there is no difference between foreign stars and Indian stars.

Over the last couple of seasons though, Dhoni has been giving away responsibilities to other players as the news around his retirement makes rounds.

BCCI have officially announced the Retention rules and Player Regulations for IPL 2025, and fans of Chennai Super Kings can be extremely delighted with the fact that a certain rule allows the franchise to retain Mahendra Singh Dhoni at a very low price.