As the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are on the verge of elimination from the Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026) season, there have been talks about whether MS Dhoni will play for CSK again next season as a player.

Dhoni was retained by CSK before this season as an ‘uncapped player’, and he was expected to groom the youngsters, but injuries kept him out of the entire season as well. And, Head Coach Stephen Fleming opened up on whether MS Dhoni will play the next season as well.

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“It’s a choice for the management. I know there has been a lot of talk about it. MS (Dhoni) has been around a lot this year, which is very important for the team, for young players in continuity, so he’s been a big part. He hasn’t played, but he’s still had a big influence on the team. There’s a lot of good things we’ve done. We’ve introduced some new players that will hopefully be generation players for CSK. But I know we are judged on results, that’s fair. So yeah, that’s a management call, not mine,” he said on the topic.

However, there has been suspense over MS Dhoni’s continuity as a player as well. While the CSK management shared that the veteran wicket-keeper batter is still injured, several theories emerged, saying MS Dhoni is keeping himself on the sidelines deliberately in order to let the young players get more chances as well.