BENGALURU (Reuters) - Chennai Super Kings will launch their Indian Premier League (IPL) title defence against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday in what could be captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's final year in the lucrative Twenty20 competition.

Dhoni played his last international in 2019 but remains one of the country's most popular players, and while the 42-year-old showed some signs of slowing down last season he still helped Chennai win a fifth title to match Mumbai Indians' haul.