What’s next for Dhoni, Srinivasan, and CSK after the UltraTech-India Cements deal?

The original owner of the CSK franchise was India Cements, whose control will pass to the Aditya Birla Group with the completion of the proposed sale of 33.72% of its stake. This raised questions. has since been informed, though, that CSK is now an independent business and is no longer a part of India Cements. The approximately one lakh stockholders of the Chennai-based company own it.

Beyond the cement sector, UltraTech Cement’s announcement on Sunday, July 28, regarding its planned acquisition of India Cements Ltd (ICL), has generated significant interest. But by the end of the day, it was evident that cricket will not be impacted by this corporate agreement between the two largest business tycoons in the nation. N Srinivasan and his family will continue to own the Chennai Super Kings, one of the most prosperous teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“There is a difference between India Cements and the Chennai Super Kings. The CSK team is no longer under India Cements’s authority. Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited (CSKCL) is the corporation that manages the squad, according to CEO Kasi Viswanathan, who spoke with on Sunday night from the US.

An old friend of Srinivasan, Viswanathan was in the United States for Major League Cricket (MLC), of which CSK is a subsidiary (Dallas Super Kings). The N Srinivasan family, which consists of Srinivasan, his wife Chitra Srinivasan, and their daughter Rupa Gurunath, has a controlling interest in the franchise, he further stated. But rather than N Srinivasan, the chairman of CSKCL is a man named R Srinivasan.

About 2015, Chennai Super Kings and India Cements split up, with IPL team shares going to India Cements’s previous stockholders. The N Srinivasan family kept the lion’s share of the company. Remarkably, N Srinivasan will not own any shares in the company after UltraTech Cement’s proposed acquisition of the shares is finalised. “When the deal closes and permissions are obtained, it will be a depressing day. I’ve been working for the company for almost 50 years,” Viswanathan said.

Hundreds of cricket players have worked for India Cements, a 77-year-old business that just celebrated its platinum jubilee. The players play for the national, state, and local teams. Currently, MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, Dinesh Karthik, R Ashwin, S Badrinath, L Sivaramakrishnan, and others work there. The first cricket player signed by the team under N Srinivasan was S Venkataraghavan, a former spinner for India.

Though the precise reason for Srinivasan’s sale of his family’s shareholding in the business is unknown, he will still be in charge of 18 Chennai league teams connected to the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), which India Cements formerly sponsored.

After purchasing 22.77% of India Cements’ shares for Rs 1,889 crore in June of this year, UltraTech stated on Sunday that it is now acquiring shares at a cost of Rs 3,954 crore. The business is aware that this acquisition will not give it any authority over the CSK, an UltraTech representative told this website.

Retentions will determine Dhoni’s playing future at CSK.

MS Dhoni’s future with CSK is reportedly contingent on the quantity of retentions permitted during the forthcoming IPL season. It is reported that Dhoni and N Srinivasan have spoken about this issue. As the team’s face since its founding in 2008, the former captain may play for the team going forward if the IPL allows for a reasonable number of retentions, ideally five or six.

Currently, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, and Matheesha Pathirana are the players most likely to be kept, albeit not necessarily in that order. If more players are allowed to be retained, Dhoni might play on and eventually become a mentor, having a big impact on the team’s operations from the dugout instead of the middle of the pitch.

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A lot will depend on how the July 31 meeting between the IPL team owners and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Mumbai turns out. The meeting will be attended by Rupa Gurunath, the daughter of N Srinivasan.