MS Dhoni unlikely to play entire IPL 2026 after Sanju Samson trade to CSK

7 hours ago 38

MS Dhoni has confirmed his availability for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. The 44-year-old didn’t look his best last year when it comes to fitness and performance.

Some had doubts whether Dhoni would return to play for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Kasi Viswanathan, CEO of the franchise, had confirmed the wicketkeeper’s availability before the IPL 2026 auction. And Dhoni has been preparing since September last year.

“We can confirm this much that he is coming to Chennai and has confirmed his availability for the season,” a top CSK source told PTI.

MS Dhoni won’t play entire IPL 2026 season

Dhoni will return to the MA Chidambaram Stadium but isn’t expected to play all 14 league matches for CSK, according to PTI. Before the auction, CSK had brought in star wicketkeeper Sanju Samson from the Rajasthan Royals (RR) via trade.

The decision to send Sam Curran and Ravindra Jadeja for Samson clearly indicated that CSK were looking for a long-term replacement for Dhoni. The 44-year-old wasn’t at his best in IPL 2025.

MS Dhoni’s record in IPL 2025

InningsRunsHighest
ScoreAverageBalls
FacedStrike
Rate

13	196	30*	24.50	145	135.17

Although he wasn’t used as an impact substitute, Dhoni batted from positions 7 to 9 in 10 innings. It clearly indicated that CSK and Dhoni himself don’t trust him to bat long and take the game deep, which was his modus operandi for over a decade. It makes sense that Dhoni will be used sparingly in IPL 2026, we just might see him come as an impact sub for the first time as well.

CSK squad for IPL 2026

MS Dhoni (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brewis, Shivam Dube, Urvil Patel (wk), Noor Ahmad, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Khaleel Ahmed, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Mukesh Choudhary, Jamie Overton, Gurjapneet Singh, Anshul Kamboj, Akeal Hosein, Prashant Veer, Kartik Sharma (wk), Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar, Zak Foulkes