Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s importance to the Chennai Super Kings extends beyond the playing field; the team is still awaiting a major decision from him. The former captain’s role is also crucial as CSK needs to finalize its plans for the upcoming IPL season and evaluate its squad.
Dhoni has also been recently rumored to be a name on the ownership end of the franchise. He had discussed the idea of buying a bigger stake in CSK, but the franchise has denied that, and it’s a report.
A senior CSK official said there was no such proposal made to the management. The official further added that so far there was no known discussion between Dhoni and N Srinivasan about his ownership increase.
But there’s a fact behind saying that Dhoni is a CSK shareholder. He’s already a shareholder in the company and has over 100,000 shares from a private investment. Unfortunately, CSK is not listed and therefore its stocks cannot be bought or sold on the stock market.
That is a small stake in Dhoni’s hands. Srinivasan family continues to hold over 50% of the franchise and public shareholders together hold nearly 40% in the company with over 30 crore shares held by them.
Despite being the IPL franchise values touching the sky, Dhoni’s stake in the franchise would still be low. If he valued his shares based on a recent franchise value of more than Rs 16,600 crore, his shares would be valued at Rs 2.6-3 crore approximately.
But the ownership question will not be the most significant one that will be on the table in the near future, if ever. CSK is eager to get clarity on its coaching setup, and Dhoni is set to have a say in the matter despite being no longer the captain of the team.
The franchise hasn’t officially named a head coach of its choosing. An overseas coach is believed to have emerged as a strong contender but at the same time is said to be mulling on an opportunity with another IPL team.
Dhoni is now thought to be in the USA and will be back around September 22nd. That should be around the time of when senior CSK officials sit around for discussion, and then the coaching decision should be followed by trades and transfers decisions.
However, reports of Dhoni wanting to have a larger stake have been brushed aside by CSK and his prowess in the franchise is not something to be taken lightly. While he may own a tiny stake in the team, his role in the team’s future may be far more significant.