Is MS Dhoni Still Playing In ICL?

Is he in or is he out? This question keeps popping up time and again. But none is willing to clarify. If he is like any normal employee, none will venture to speculate. But he is MS Dhoni, the Captain Cool. Not surprisingly, everyone is letting his/her imagination run amok. After Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the IPL franchise was born in 2008, Dhoni was appointed as Vice-President (Marketing) of N Srinivasan-headed The India Cements Ltd (ICL) in 2013. CSK was initially a division of ICL, which was the original franchisee owner of CSK. If grapevine is to go by, Srinivasan had reportedly given Dhoni a blank cheque to write his remuneration! In the past, Dhoni used to visit ICL plants across the country and address employees and dealers alike. In fact, in 2022, he unveiled the new premium cement brand, Conkrete Super King. Much water has flown under the bridge since then. Birla-owned UltraTech bought out N Srinivasan and his family in ICL. With ICL sold to UltraTech, Srinivasan has become the Chairman of CSK, which was hived off into a separate entity when the conflict of interest issue was raging. His daughter, Rupa Gurunath, too, has now become a Wholetime-Director of CSK. Given this backdrop, intense speculation is on whether Dhoni is still associated with ICL? There has been no official communication thus far either from UltraTech or MSD. The iconic Coromandel Towers, the corporate office of India Cements, in the meanwhile, is sporting the UltraTech brand along with ICL’s Sankar Cement, Coromandel King and Conkrete Super King. EWS, the holding company of N Srinivasan and family, Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd. and other firms have since moved to their new address in Adyar in the heart of the city. Season or no season, one thing is clear Dhoni remains a hot topic!