Now less than 2 weeks are left for the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) to start. The first match will be played between last year’s champions Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 28. Fans are eager to see legends like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni on the field. While Dhoni plays only in IPL, Rohit and Kohli also play only in One Day International and IPL. Here we are telling about those 4 players for whom IPL 2026 may prove to be the last season as a player.
MS Dhoni (CSK)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is one of the most successful captains of IPL, who has made CSK champion 5 times under his captaincy. He has been playing for the Chennai team since the first season (except 2016 and 2017), although he is no longer the captain but he had to take over the captaincy after the departure of captain Ruturaj Gaikwad last season. Dhoni has started preparations for IPL 2026, which could be his last season as a player.
For IPL 2026, CSK has included Sanju Samson in its team, who is being considered as Dhoni’s successor. Sanju was the player of the tournament of the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2026. Talking about Dhoni’s IPL career, he has scored 5439 runs in 278 matches, which includes 24 half-century innings.
Ajinkya Rahane (KKR)
Kolkata Knight Riders have made it clear that Ajinkya Rahane will remain the captain in IPL 2026. However, if this season is a flop for Rahane as a batsman, then this season may prove to be his last. If 37-year-old Rahane is released by KKR, then it is very difficult for any new team to buy him. Rahane scored 5032 runs in 198 matches in IPL, in which he scored 33 half-centuries and 2 centuries.
Ishant Sharma (GT)
37-year-old fast bowler Ishant Sharma has taken 96 wickets in 117 matches in IPL. Last season, Ishant joined Gujarat Titans, in which he could not perform as per expectations. He took only 4 wickets in 7 matches, in which his economy was 11.18. He will play for the same team in the upcoming season also, but if his performance remains like this then it may be difficult for him. That means his IPL career will depend on this season.
Marcus Stoinis (PBKS)
Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis is included in Punjab Kings, who was retained by the team at a price of Rs 11 crore. Stoinis has scored 2026 runs and taken 44 wickets in 109 matches played for 4 teams in IPL. 36-year-old Stoinis is an explosive batsman, who has played many important innings but for quite some time now he has not been able to contribute as per expectations. If his bat does not work in IPL and Punjab Kings releases him, then this season (IPL 2026) may prove to be his last season as a player.
