Ahmedabad: Chennai Super Kings' triumphant captain 'Thala' Dhoni said he has got six, seven months to deicide on his retirement from the Indian Premier League. While not ruling out his cap in the next edition of the short-format game, Dhoni said his body will have to cooperate and if that happens would be a gift to CSK fans next year.
The 41-year-old was nursing a knee injury throughout the tournament but ensured that it was not obvious by keeping his reflexes on par with the youngsters who were as half as his age. Monday night also saw Dhoni's lightning reflex in stumping. The response time in the screen showed 0.1 sec when he dislodged the bails off a delivery from Ravindra Jadeja to send Shubman Gill who was threatening to run a riot with his bat, back to the dug out.
In the end, Dhoni's CSK won a record-equalling fifth IPL title with a five-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans in the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday with Jadeja hitting consecutive boundaries in the last two balls to surpass the revised target of 171 in 15 overs after rain interrupted play at the start of the second innings. Gujarat Titans posted 214 for four after being asked to bat first.
Gift to fans-"Circumstantially, this is the best time to announce my retirement. But the amount of love I have received all over, the easy thing would be to walk away from here, but the harder thing would be to work hard for nine months and try to play another IPL," Dhoni said, amid loud cheers in the post-match presentation ceremony. "It would be a gift from me, won't be easy on the body," Dhoni said to another round of cheers rented the air.
Emotional-"You do get emotional, the first game at CSK everyone was chanting my name. My eyes were full of water, I needed to take some time off in the dugout. I realised I need to enjoy this. I think they love me for what I am, I don't try to portray something I'm not. Just keep it simple," Dhoni said, when he got emotional in the earlier which the presenter Harsha Bhogle termed as 'unusual' for the 'Captain Cool'.
Lifting trophy-"Every trophy is special, but what is special about IPL is every crunch game you need to be ready. There were lapses today, the bowling department didn't work, but it was the batting department that took the pressure off them today," Dhoni said while grading the team's performance in the final. "I do get frustrated, it is human but I try to step into their shoes, every individual deals with pressure differently. Ajinkya (Rahane) and a few others are experienced, so you don't worry. If anyone is confused, they can always ask," Dhoni added.
