MS Dhoni's auction strategy: 1.5 million deal with CSK

CSK captain MS Dhoni shed light on the 2008 auction, where he emerged as the highest-paid player. Dhoni is expected to play his final IPL season in 2024.

MSD rejected the offer to join a franchise as a marquee player and instead went into the auction with a base price of $400,000.

CSK bought him for $1.5 million, and since then, he has become the face of the franchise, leading the Men in Yellow to five titles, the joint-most in the history of the cash-studded league. Chennai always prioritised Dhoni and retained him ahead of every mega-auction.

Recently, Mahi gave an interview to Star Sports in which he revealed why he turned down the offer to be a marquee player in the IPL. The 42-year-old explained that he was taking a risk, believing that he would easily fetch more than $1 million after leading the nation to the T20 World Cup title in 2007.

MS Dhoni, the captain of the 2007 T20 World Cup-winning team, took a risk and entered the auction hoping to fetch a high price. He explained to Star Sports that if two out of the three teams without marquee players showed interest in him, along with the other franchises, it would increase his chances of getting a higher price.

Dhoni explained: “During a match between Bengal and Delhi, Tiwary had an altercation with Gautam Gambhir, who was fielding at first slip. Tiwary later expressed regret over the incident, stating that he values respect for his seniors and is not one to engage in fights”.He acknowledged that he lost his cool atthat moment and that the incident had a negative impact on his image.

Tiwary and Gambhir shared the same dressing room for four years while playing together for KKR from 2010-13. Tiwary regrets the fight with Gambhir during the Ranji Trophy, despite their great bond and frequent discussions in Kolkata.

“When a cricket player becomes a marquee player, the franchise owner thinks that they have to pay 10 or 15 per cent more to that player. So, in order to avoid this, I decided to enter the auction. This way, if any franchise without a marquee player bought me, I had a better chance of getting more money. During the auction, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) bought me for 1.5 million dollars (approximately 6 crore). My strategy worked at that point in time.”