IPL 2025: Dhoni riding on his brand value, but for how long?

It’s quite a conundrum that Chennai Super Kings — the franchise with the highest brand value of $122 million (as per a 2024 report by Brand Finance) and five IPL titles — have been faced with over the last few years. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the thala and biggest flagbearer of the CSK brand — if not the IPL — is no longer in a position to serve the team as per requirements.

The earlier the team management, as well as the man who is known to be dispassionate on his decision-making, appreciates this, the better. The question is, with so much riding on the talismanic figure (he had 42 brands under his belt in the first half of 2024, one more than Amitabh Bachchan), can MSD be perceived as someone who is done with the only form of the game he plays? Let’s face it: it’s a situation Dhoni has created for himself.

It’s still early days in the season and CSK are no strangers to an indifferent start like this with only one win in three games, back-to-back losses coming thanks to their inability to chase down totals against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals, respectively. Dhoni’s decision to come in at no. 9 in against RCB was heavily panned, while he gave it his all at no. 7 against the Royals, but his team had just fallen short by six runs.

It’s par for the course in sport but CSK coach Stephen Fleming reveals that given the condition of his knee, Dhoni is not in a position to bat for 10 overs as it would involve enough stress in running between the wickets. It’s a logic difficult to buy at a league which calls itself the best franchise league and prides itself on the intensity of the competition.

It’s clearly become a case of Dhoni the brand versus Dhoni the performer, and the longer CSK choose to live in denial, the more embarrassing it’s going to become for one of India’s biggest matchwinners ever. Things have come to such a pass in the current edition that someone like Ambati Rayudu, a Dhoni loyalist who served as the anchor of their middle order, questioned whether the management and fans’ obsession with one icon is proving to be counterproductive now.      

‘’Internally, a lot of people used to feel that the crowd even though we also love M.S. Dhoni, and they also love M.S. Dhoni and we want to see him bat, but sometimes when you, as an individual, are going out to bat they are shouting from the crowd to… literally asking you to get out. Or they are anticipating or expecting you to get out,’’ Rayudu told Jio Hotstar in a post-match show.

‘’So it is quite strange, and I don’t think it actually serves the game well to be very honest. All the (other) players are giving their best for the team as well and they have put in a lot of sacrifice to be where they are. When things like that happen from their own crowd, I feel, maybe it can be avoided,’’ he added.

The question that begs to be asked is whether both CSK and Dhoni could have handled things differently — especially after the spontaneous ‘send-off’ he received from all the venues in 2023 when the yellow shirts won the crown. It’s been two seasons now that Dhoni (43) has been battling a dodgy knee — though it’s to his credit that he doesn’t let it show in his wicketkeeping where the razor sharp reflexes show up off and on.

Houlihan Lokey, a global investment bank who publishes a brand valuation report on IPL annually, observed in it’s 2024 report: “Dhoni has been the face of the franchise and the biggest contributor to the franchise’s success. This team has a mass fan following across India. Due to these factors, CSK is able to get the cream of sponsors and has recorded high sponsorship revenues. The team’s branding elements, fan engagement strategies, and CSR initiatives have all contributed to its enduring success and popularity.”

 Point taken, but for how long?