Virat Kohli lifted the IPL title earlier this week with RCB, while Rohit Sharma also smashed four fifties in the campaign as MI qualified for playoffs.
The 2025 Indian Premier League season ended with Royal Challengers Bengaluru ending an 18-year wait for the title. Rajat Patidar’s RCB defeated Punjab Kings by six runs in a close final, thus lifting the trophy for the first time in the franchise’s history. The season also saw a highly improved outing from the Mumbai Indians, who qualified for the playoffs under Hardik Pandya’s captaincy; they lost to PBKS in the Qualifier 2. However, the fortunes didn’t improve for the Chennai Super Kings, as they ended the campaign with a wooden spoon, registering only four losses.
All three franchises – RCB, MI, and CSK – feature three of the stalwarts of Indian cricket. While Virat Kohli made an efficient contribution to RCB’s title-winning run, Rohit Sharma, too, smashed four half-centuries in the season including a player-of-the-match performance in the Eliminator. For MS Dhoni, however, the season was turbulent, as he was forced to take over the captaincy midway through the campaign after an injury to Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Throughout the season, many stated that the 2025 season could be the last we see Dhoni in CSK colours, as the franchise faced heat for outdated tactics and poor performances with the bat. However, former Australia captain Michael Clarke believes that Dhoni is the “face” of CSK and it is important that he returns for the next season. Speaking on Clarke also spoke about Kohli and Rohit’s IPL futures in the same breath.
“I think MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will play in next year’s IPL. MS Dhoni is massive. Every time Chennai plays, even in away games, there are more Chennai fans than any other fan. Sponsors, they are there because of MS Dhoni. The fans, they are there because of MS Dhoni,” said Clarke.