Exclusive | ‘Play under MS Dhoni & Ruturaj Gaikwad’ – Shivam Mavi’s ambition for IPL 2026 auction

Shivam Mavi has had an interesting journey. Before turning 19, the fast bowler from Uttar Pradesh had made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), featured in India’s title run at the 2018 Under-19 World Cup and made his debut for India A.

Shivam Mavi’s complicated journey

Things were going in the right direction. In 2022, KKR bought him paid for INR 7.25 crore at the auction. At that point, Mavi hadn’t even made his India debut. But he did soon after. In January 2023, the pacer took 4 wickets on his T20I debut. He played five more matches in the next few weeks but didn’t have the same impact.

At the end of that year, the Gujarat Titans (GT) paid Mavi INR 6 crore, but things didn’t turn out as expected. He warmed the bench all season. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) got him for INR 6.4 crore in 2024, but then he was ruled out of IPL 2024, and when he returned, his pace had dropped. His swing vanished. Expectedly, he went unsold last year.

After changing his action and working on his batting, Mavi’s back. He wants to start his IPL journey afresh. And the pacer’s clear about what he wants. He wishes to join the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and play alongside MS Dhoni and Ruturaj Gaikwad.

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Wants to kickstart IPL career with CSK

In an exclusive chat with InsideSport, Mavi touched upon why CSK is the team he wishes to represent and as most would guess, the reason is none other than Dhoni.

“Every bowler wants freedom from the captain. If you tell MS Dhoni what you want to do, he’ll set the fields for you. It makes things easier for you; now all you have to do is execute your plan. From what I’ve heard, he doesn’t tell his bowler, ‘Don’t do this, don’t do that.’

If the captain shows confidence in you, a bowler gets relaxed. Then, your entire focus is on executing the plan. You don’t have the burden to set the field, and you are certain he’ll back your plans, which some captains don’t. He’s a bowler’s captain. I want to play alongside him and learn,” he told InsideSport.

While Dhoni remains a leader, CSK have handed the captaincy to Gaikwad now. The 5-time champions have operated differently with Gaikwad at the helm, and results haven’t been as expected. But Mavi views Gaikwad in the same light as Dhoni; for him, both are bowlers’ captains, and that’s exactly why he eyes that yellow cap at the IPL 2026 auction.

“If you look at Ruturaj Gaikwad, he’s very much like Dhoni Bhai, cool and composed. He also backs the bowlers, and I would like to play under him,” Mavi added.

The post Exclusive | ‘Play under MS Dhoni & Ruturaj Gaikwad’ – Shivam Mavi’s ambition for IPL 2026 auction appeared first on Inside Sport India.