Is MS Dhoni a co-owner of the Chennai Super Kings?

By virtue of becoming a top executive of India Cements and a close associate of former BCCI president N Srinivasan, the main promoters of IPL team Chennai Super Kings, does former India skipper MS Dhoni have a stake in the franchisee?

The top management of CSK denies this completely. “It isn’t correct,” a source said. However, even if MS Dhoni is not a stakeholder right now, there could be a possibility of him gaining a stake in the team once his playing days in the IPL are over.

Earlier in 2015, India Cements, which owned CSK, had approved the transfer of ownership rights in favour of the newly formed subsidiary - CSK Cricket Ltd. This move also ensured that the shareholders of India Cements had owned shares of CSK Cricket Ltd.

Incidentally, MS Dhoni has been with CSK since its inception in 2008. And don’t be surprised if the promoters are keen to continue his association with the team on a long-term basis even post his retirement from IPL.

What Sportskeeda also learnt is that his fans could get to see Dhoni play for CSK for at least two more seasons.

“He certainly has plans to play for two seasons. But you never know what he is feeling inside. He will assess his form this season and take it from there. If he is able to perform the way he is used to doing, Dhoni will also be seen in 2021 IPL,” a source insisted.

Also see: IPL 2020 team owners

MS Dhoni could do what Gautam Gambhir and Sourav Ganguly could not

There is also an apprehension that if Dhoni isn’t ready to turn up for CSK, the market valuation of the team will plummet and that is something the majority of stakeholders are not game for.

"MS Dhoni also owns stakes in the Chennaiyin FC in ISL and it won’t be a surprise if he owns stakes in CSK one day,” another source insisted.

In the past, Sourav Ganguly and Gautam Gambhir tried buying stakes in the Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals without much success. Has Dhoni succeeded where Ganguly and Gambhir once failed?