MS Dhoni is all set to play every match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), but his role within the team remains undecided.
This comes in the aftermath of speculation that the former CSK skipper may not play all the matches, with Sanju Samson having been traded from Rajasthan Royals (RR).
The Jharkhand cricketer has struggled with a knee injury and a muscle tear in the last three years, and his role with the bat has often been limited to just playing cameos at the end of the innings. He even underwent surgery on his left knee in June 2023, after guiding CSK to their fifth IPL title.
CSK CEO on MS Dhoni’s role in IPL 2026
“He will play the matches, all matches,” CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan said during an interaction with reporters in Chennai. There have also been speculations about whether Dhoni will play as an impact player for the five-time IPL champions.
Kasi Viswanathan, however, left that decision to the CSK coaching staff. “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,” he said.
The 44-year-old is no longer the Chennai Super Kings captain, after having passed the baton to Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of IPL 2024.
However, Dhoni did return as CSK skipper for the second half of IPL 2025 after Gaikwad was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury. The Yellow Brigade, however, failed to qualify for the playoffs last season, and in fact, finished in tenth place with eight points from 14 matches.
Dhoni has not missed a match for Chennai Super Kings since 2019. In IPL 2025, Dhoni aggregated 196 runs from five matches at a strike-rate of 135.17, and a highest score of 30 runs.
India’s T20 World Cup-winning squad of 2026 included two Chennai Super Kings players in Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube. Viswanathan was happy with India defending the T20 World Cup title, and also hoped that Samson and Dube’s presence will benefit the team.
“I am very happy that India has won back-to-back World Cups. We are also delighted because two of our CSK players – Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube have performed extremely well. It gives us a lot of confidence in the team doing well for CSK also,” he said.
The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side will get their IPL 2026 campaign underway with an away match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Guwahati on 30 March. The schedule for the first phase of IPL 2026 was announced on Wednesday, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) beginning their title defense at home against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on 28 March.
