Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin said MS Dhoni must have a lot of match practice elsewhere to play for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2027. Dhoni missed the entire 2026 IPL season due to a calf injury. He also struggled in IPL 2025, scoring 196 runs at a poor strike rate of 135.17. However, Dhoni’s fitness issues and poor performances have
hurt CSK, with CSK missing the playoffs in each of the last three seasons as well.

Talking about this, Ashwin said on his YouTube channel, “Just on outlook, without match practice, there is no way for him to play in a tournament like the IPL. That will just be pushing the barriers way too much. If he decides to play, none of us can question it.”

“But if he wants to continue as a player in the IPL, he has to play matches elsewhere to put miles on his legs. If he can do these things and be extremely motivated, it has to be applauded. But if this is not the case, there is nothing going forward for him as a player,” he added.

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Ravichandran Ashwin also believes MS Dhoni has earned the right to decide whether he wants to continue playing for CSK in IPL 2027.

“It is hard for a player who has performed at such a high level for so long to be seen as a player performing at a lower level. No one has the right to decide if Dhoni should play at 46 or not. Only he has to decide that. But from the outside, I have several questions about it,” said Ashwin.

“We do not know what kind of effort he is putting in behind closed doors. We also don’t know how much he practices and goes to the gym, or how much fire he still has to perform. Even with his knee and calf injuries, the work he has put in to regain fitness is unknown,” he concluded.