Published: Feb 22, 2026, 09:34 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 22, 2026, 09:34 PM (IST)
The old question about MS Dhoni’s future is back again as the IPL 2026 season gets closer: will the legendary former captain play every match for Chennai Super Kings this year?
Dhoni will turn 45 later in 2026, but a top source from CSK has confirmed he is available for the full season.
“We can confirm this much: that he is coming to Chennai and had confirmed his availability for the season,” a top CSK source told PTI on condition of anonymity.
“Whether he will play all games or not is something we can’t say at the moment,” the source added.
With Sanju Samson now in the CSK squad as a big buy, it looks unlikely that Dhoni will feature in every league match.
The Impact Player rule has prevented Dhoni from batting for extended periods in the last two IPL seasons. His job has mostly been to come in late for quick cameos and finish games when needed.
This year, CSK has three wicketkeeper-batters in the squad. Sanju Samson is expected to keep wickets in games where Dhoni does not play. There is also Urvil Patel in the team, plus the new Rs 14.20 crore signing rookie Kartik Sharma, who will be groomed as a finisher along with Shivam Dube.
Dhoni has been dealing with knee and back issues over the years. Keeping wickets and playing back-to-back matches can be very tough on the body at this age, so the team is likely to manage his workload carefully.
Dhoni is almost certain to play most of CSK’s home matches in Chennai. When he walks out at Chepauk, the crowd goes wild every time. His connection with the franchise and the Chennai fans remains as strong as ever.
As IPL 2026 nears, all eyes will be on how CSK uses Dhoni’s experience and finishing power in what could be one of his last seasons.
Amid talks over his playing future, Dhoni recently ruled out the prospect of grabbing a microphone inside the commentary box, describing the popular post-retirement job as a “difficult” balancing act driven by stats, which he finds tough to memorise.
“Commentary is very difficult. I feel there is a very fine line between describing the game and in that process getting into a zone where you start criticising individuals who are playing the game. It’s a very thin line,” Dhoni told sports broadcaster Jatin Sapru during a Youtube interaction.
“Often, you don’t even feel that what you are doing is may be borderline wrong. You would always like to be on the other side where you are describing the game. If you feel something is wrong you say it out.
“But how to put it, that is also an art, how to politely put it forward where nobody feels targetted…If the team is losing there are reasons behind it, and you need to have the skill of describing those reasons without anybody feeling bad. That is the art of commentary,” he said.
Dhoni, a five-time IPL winner with CSK, retired from international cricket in August 2020.
