‘Would Like to See…’: Tom Moody Wants a Key Change to the Rule That Makes MS Dhoni Available for CSK

Fans are anticipating the arrival of their favourite players with great fervour as the IPL 2025 draws near. There is a great deal of demand for MS Dhoni to stay with CSK, as supporters strongly desire that the team keep him. There is a clear buzz about the next season.

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Tom Moody Advocates for Rule Change that Ensure MS Dhoni 's Availability for CSK in IPL 2025

Former Australian all-rounder and ex- Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody has backed the rule classifying MS Dhoni as an uncapped player in the Indian Premier League ( IPL ). He commended this control and recommended cutting the five-year term for Indian players declared uncapped to three years.

On September 28 the BCCI unveiled the IPL player rules for the 2025 to 2027 seasons with much expectation. One important guideline is that “a capped Indian player will be classified as uncapped if they have not played in the starting XI in International Cricket (Test, ODI, or T20) in the five calendar years prior to the season, or if they do not hold a Central Contract with the BCCI.”

Reversing this regulation has elicited conflicting responses. Although it was included into the league's initial structure, clubs did not make use of it, so it was eliminated in 2021. Some experts and supporters feel that this control is being reinstated, especially for Dhoni.

Still, Moody supports the restoration of the rule. In an interview on ESPN Cricinfo, he underlined that, as long as they can perform, having famous players like Dhoni competing in the IPL is good for the T20 competition. Tom Moody said:

"I think it's a great rule. I think it allows, if you are good enough and you have got longevity, it allows a player to continue to play on the big stage and perform and have some sort of role; without them, I suppose, you are making it difficult, from a price perspective, to retain those players because they might be the identity, or in Dhoni's case, certainly he is the identity of CSK.

"So, I don't think that's an issue at all. I think the longer the likes of iconic players like Dhoni can play in the IPL and can physically deliver like he has been, it's good for the tournament," 

“I personally think five years is a long time; I would like to see it as a three-year window. Once a player has played his last international game, I think if you are out of international cricket or you haven't been considered to play for India over that three-year window, you should be given the right of passage to be able to come in at that four-crow level,”

Whether MS Dhoni will come back to play for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2025 is still unknown. Should he decide to return to the IPL, the 43-year-old legend may be kept by CSK uncapped for ₹4 crore.

Last representing the national squad at the 2019 ODI World Cup , the former India captain announced his August 2020 retirement from international cricket.