IPL 2018 | Thala is back: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina retained by Chennai Super Kings

Mahendra Singh Dhoni fans are in for some good news as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have retained him and Suresh Raina for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018.

The former CSK captain and the prolific left-handed batsman are icons of the Chennai outfit, scripting numerous memorable wins for the two-time IPL champions.

“We are retaining Dhoni and Raina, and the third we are contemplating,” a CSK official was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

CSK, though, are yet to name the third player they will retain as the deadline to submit the list is January 4.

Although Raina is out of favour as far as the Indian cricket team is concerned at the moment, he is undoubtedly an IPL legend. Dhoni, on the other hand, continues to be a vital cog for the Men In Blue.

Earlier, The franchise director George John, too, had confirmed the same.

“That’s an obvious one. We will have him back as captain. For Dhoni it would be like returning home, 100 per cent," John stated.

The IPL governing council recently announced that a franchise can retain up to five players using a combination of pre-auction retentions and Right to Match (RTM) cards.

The teams can use either option for a maximum of three times.

If a team doesn’t opt for a pre-auction retention, it can use RTM cards to retain a maximum of three players only and not five.

CSK, along with Rajasthan Royals, was suspended for two years as an after-effect of the 2013 betting and spot-fixing scandal.