In a surprise to many ahead of the new season of the Indian Premier League Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have declared MS Dhoni is not the captain for the upcoming IPL 2026. That is a very bad news to fans and is to be expected as M.D. as we know IPL 2026 is also Dhoni’s last season.
Dhoni (who is currently in the middle of a minor fitness problem of knee is being held down on the team. The CSK management has decided not to rush him back into action and wants him staying fit longer than an exhibition in the tournament. Dhoni is also being watched around from the very beginning and he is not one to go up early in time in the game and what the team have no other choice there for him.
This is a strategic decision made as CSK must balance performances in less moment at the start of a tournament and continued success. As Mahendra Singh Dhoni can be viewed as the calm leader and finish-to finish batsman in team and on the field MS Dhoni is a vital link. The captaincy of the team has worked under Dhoni to keep him fresh while there is his absence for the team’s developing and playing.
For Dhoni, CSK may find alternate leadership options in the team to assist in the playing field responsibilities as well. There will be a crop of very experienced players in the team that, no matter what role does Dhoni have now, will come up when he gets to the side early on, the team still has the chance to contend so as to have a big opportunity to produce a very competitive start to the season as opposed to others.
Supporters had reservations over the development but those who have been more vocal on social media would be concerned, disappointed and surprised. For many people in their lives Dhoni’s presence is not just a matter of his cricketing ability, of whom he is also a loved one who is an important entity and also a big seller of teams across the cricket world in the history of the state.
However, as an internal team member told us, there isn’t so much an official timeline, and Dhoni is optimistic his comeback will follow soon, hence the management will monitor a lot about treatment and call up him for games again when he is ready/fit and at an acceptable stage of his recovery.
In IPL 2026 all eyes then shine on CSK’s performance when all eyes will be on the team considering how they may not be able to rely on Dhoni‘s leadership as the team will be without their legendary great. And so they might get there if she ends up in the team in the tournament and all eyes on Dhoni is definitely all right.
