MS Dhoni faced a brutal fan backlash as “retire fixer” began trending on X following the failure of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to defend their Indian Premier League (IPL) title.

The defending champions suffered an unceremonious exit from the competition after losing at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium to Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Their loss shocked fans and pundits, considering a win would have guaranteed their place in the IPL playoffs.

One must not forget that MS Dhoni has been associated with Chennai Super Kings since its inception in 2008.

During his long 14-year stint as captain of the Chennai-based side, MS Dhoni guided them to five IPL titles, including last year when CSK joined Mumbai Indians atop the list of the most successful teams in the elite T20 competition.

The former Team India captain, who won the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 World Cup, underwent knee surgery last year.

While CSK's management managed his workload, sending him to bat lower down the order, pundits feel that his body can no longer survive the rigors of top-level cricket for almost two months, considering that the 42-year-old doesn't play any other form of the sport during the rest of the year.

Interestingly, despite the constraints he dealt with in the just-concluded season of the IPL due to injury, MS Dhoni still ended the event with impressive numbers.

MS Dhoni's performance in the death overs was phenomenal, to say the least. For instance, he smashed Hardik Pandya for three consecutive sixes in a match against Mumbai Indians earlier in the tournament.

Overall, MS Dhoni made 161 runs in 14 fixtures in the 17th edition of the IPL, and what was astounding about his stats in the tournament was his strike rate of 220.55.

Despite his impressive figures in the IPL, MS Dhoni faced online abuse after Virat Kohli's admirers began trolling him on social media.

Virat Kohli's admirers tore apart MS Dhoni for his disrespectful act after RCB knocked out CSK from the 2024 IPL.

MS Dhoni was labeled “shameless” and “classless” after videos showed that he chose not to shake hands with RCB players following CSK's loss to Virat Kohli's team in the IPL.

Furthermore, there is rising speculation about MS Dhoni's future, with fans assuming that he has played his last game in the IPL.

In his last fixture in IPL 2024 against RCB, MS Dhoni scored 25 off 13 deliveries, including three boundaries and a six. But he failed to take CSK over the finish line.

He even handed over the reins of CSK to Ruturaj Gaikwad before the start of the 2024 edition of the IPL.

Nonetheless, CSK's administration and former players who played for the franchise under him are hopeful that he will stay for another year.

“MS Dhoni should play one more season. This shouldn't be his last as he cannot leave like this. He should play next season and win the IPL. He's a once-in-a-generation player and once-in-a-generation human being,” former India and CSK batter Ambati Rayudu told Star Sports.

“He is the God of Chennai and I am sure, temples of MS Dhoni would be built in the years to come in Chennai. He (Dhoni) is someone who brought India the joy of two World Cups and has brought Chennai joy with a lot of IPL and Champions League titles. He has just been that one guy who shows belief in his players, who has always done it for the team, for the country and for CSK,” he added.

“I don't think we have seen the last of MS. He is not someone who takes these things lightly. He will come back roaring for sure,” ex-CSK star Robin Uthappa said on JioCinema.

“Even with the narrative, I have seen him bat only in the last 4 or 5 overs, there is a reason for it. He had a calf injury which they initially thought perhaps was a niggle, but it was a little more grave than that. Because of that, he had to manage himself and often as he does, in international cricket and for CSK, he figured out a way to be useful and contribute to CSK,” he elaborated.

“I do not know. It is a question only MS [Dhoni] can answer. We have always respected the decisions taken by MS. We have left it to him and as all of you know he has always taken his decisions and announced it at the appropriate time. We do expect that we will get a decision as and when he decides. But we are very hopeful he’ll be available for CSK next year. That is the view and expectation of the fans and mine,” CSK CEO K.S. Viswanathan said.

“It is too early because we have still not heard from BCCI on the kind of retentions which are going to be part of the next cycle of auction. So we are expecting that the BCCI would discuss with all franchise owners before they take a decision on retention,” he concluded.