Fans have been curious about his role with the Chennai Super Kings franchise for the upcoming IPL 2026, given that he is already 44. Fans had been curious whether he would be more involved with the team as a mentor, considering the arrival of Samson. Samson is also a wicketkeeper.
However, he will be more involved as a player in the upcoming season and will participate in all games, according to CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan.
Since the first week of March, Dhoni has also been training in Chennai, and he likely started training in Ranchi last month.
CSK CEO Confirms MS Dhoni’s Participation and Praises Samson and Dube After T20 World Cup Triumph
Kasi Viswanathan says that Dhoni will play the matches and almost all the matches. When asked about whether Dhoni would be used as an impact player, he replied, saying nothing could be said because that’s a cricketing decision. Also, he added that these types of decisions would be handled by the cricketing staff and not by any administrative staff.
The CSK’s CEO confirmed that only the cricketing staff will be deciding whether Dhoni is going to play as a batter, a wicketkeeper-batter, or an impact player.
In addition, Kasi Viswanathan expressed his admiration for the players Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube, who played remarkable roles for Team India’s T20 World Cup-winning campaign. Also, he further added that he felt very happy about India’s victory in the World Cup and that they managed to win back-to-back.
Viswanathan was extremely delighted because two of the CSK players, Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube, both played astonishingly well. This gave confidence to the CEO of the CSK team because they might continue performing well for the IPL team as well.
When asked about the players’ IPL preparation, he replied that as of now, their practice sessions are going on smoothly and they haven’t come across any problem so far.
MS Dhoni’s Legacy at CSK and Key Squad Changes Ahead of IPL Season
However, Dhoni is not the captain of CSK anymore, and his experience is still useful to the team in matches. He has led CSK to the IPL finals ten times and won it five times (2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, and 2023), a record he shares with Rohit Sharma. He also won two Champions League T20 titles in 2010 and 2014 as captain of CSK.
Apart from Dhoni, CSK also retained Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brewis, Shivam Dube, Urvil Patel, Noor Ahmad, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Khaleel Ahmed, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Mukesh Choudhary, Jamie Overton, Gurjapneet Singh, and Anshul Kamboj. Samson was traded in from RR, and in return, Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran went to RR.
However, during the auction, they broke the bank to buy two uncapped players, namely Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma, for a whopping amount of ₹14.20 crore each. They also spent a lot of money on international players Akeal Hosein and Matthew Short, who were bought for 2 crore and 1.5 crore, respectively.
IPL Officials Monitor Geopolitical Situation Ahead of IPL 2026 Start
With the Indian Premier League (IPL) scheduled to start on 28 March, the IPL authorities are keeping a close eye on the prevailing geopolitical scenario and its potential impact on the tournament, said a top IPL official.
The IPL authorities are concerned about the potential impact on the tournament’s logistics and infrastructure if the geopolitical tensions are escalated. This includes the potential impact on the fuel supply, such as cooking gas and oil for the floodlights, and the impact on flights, considering the teams would be flying in from outside the country.
When contacted by India Today on the prevailing geopolitical scenario and the potential impact on the tournament, a top IPL official said that they are keeping track of the scenario and, as of now, there has been no decision taken regarding this.
Oil and LPG disruptions are unlikely to affect IPL 2026, and the BCCI is prepared with backup plans.
The official said that they would not be assuming the situation, as everything needs to be observed, and already the officials have discussed how to keep things under control. Adding to this, he said that as of now, the organizers are seeing no urgent cause to change, reschedule, or make arrangements. Because they feel at present everything is alright, but at the same time, they are monitoring the news on this matter.
Conclusion
As far as preparations for the IPL 2026 are concerned, Chennai Super Kings seem to be in a positive frame of mind. MS Dhoni is expected to remain a part of the setup as a player, despite giving up the captaincy role. The team is also reportedly boosted by the performance of players like Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube in international cricket. Along with preparations for the teams, external influences are also being kept in mind by the authorities for the smooth conduct of the tournament.
