IPL 2024: Chennai Super Kings retain skipper MS Dhoni for upcoming season; Ben Stokes, Ambati Rayudu released

In what comes as a huge development, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni was retained by the franchise as the deadline for the retention and release of players ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 Player Auction ended on Sunday.

Dhoni had led CSK to their fifth IPL title earlier this year but had sustained a knee injury during the season, eventually undergoing a surgery for the same in June.

IPL 2024: Full list of players retained, released, traded, remaining purse

Dhoni was one of the 19 players to be retained by the franchise. Other retained players include Moeen Ali, Ajinkya Rahane, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Devon Conway, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Mukesh Chaudhary, Ajay Mandal, Nishanth Sindhu, Shaikh Rasheed, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana , Matheesha Pathirana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar and Simarjeet Singh.

Meanwhile, one of the biggest names to be released by CSK was England all-rounder Ben Stokes. CSK had acquired Stokes for Rs 16.25 crore last year but played just two matches this season, scoring 15 runs.

Stokes was part of England’s dismal campaign at the recently-concluded ODI World Cup, following which Stokes has decided to undergo a knee surgery ahead of the Test series against India in January.

Other players to have been released include Ambati Rayudu, Dwaine Pretorius, Kyle Jamieson, Akash Singh, K Bhagath Varma, Subhranshu Senapati and Sisanda Magala.