With MS Dhoni already 44, fans have been wondering about his role within the Chennai Super Kings setup for IPL 2026. Many fans wondered if he would feature more in the dugout as a mentor, due to Sanju Samson’s arrival. Samson can also don the gloves. But it looks like he will be an active player in the upcoming season and will play all matches, according to CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan.
The CSK veteran has also been training in Chennai since the first week of March. Reportedly, he began his preparations in Ranchi last month.
“He will play the matches, all matches,” said Viswanathan, while speaking to reporters.
‘A cricketing decision’
When asked if Dhoni would be used as an Impact Player, he said, “I can’t say. That’s a cricketing decision which will be taken by the cricketing staff, not by the administrative staff. They will decide whether he is going to play as a batter, or a wicketkeeper-batter or as an Impact Player.”
Dhoni is no longer the CSK captain, but his experience still comes in handy for the franchise during matches. He has captained CSK to the IPL final on ten occasions, winning it five times (2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023), a record jointly shared with Rohit Sharma. He has also led CSK to two Champions League T20 titles in 2010 and 2014.
Other than Dhoni, CSK also retained Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brewis, Shivam Dube, Urvil Patel, Noor Ahmad, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Khaleel Ahmed, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Mukesh Choudhary, Jamie Overton, Gurjapneet Singh, and Anshul Kamboj. Samson was traded in from RR, with Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran going the opposite direction.
Meanwhile, during the auction, they broke the bank for uncapped players Prashant Veer ( ₹14.20 crore) and Kartik Sharma ( ₹14.20 crore). They also spent big on international players Akeal Hosein ( ₹2 crore) and Matthew Short ( ₹1.5 crore).
