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Since his international retirement, MS Dhoni continues to entertain fans. The former India captain is currently preparing for the 19th IPL season. He has been in action in the IPL for six seasons now, since his last match for India in 2019. With the arrival of wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, many fans feel that Dhoni could also take up a non-playing role in IPL 2026. But former India cricketer R Ashwin feels that Dhoni will be playing in IPL 2026, and could come in to bat at No. 3 in the Powerplay.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said, “Dhoni looks set to play as he has already started practising. He’s looking fit. Some said he may not play in the 11, or this might be his last season. But it looks like he got motivated seeing Imran Tahir. Looking at him, it doesn’t look like he’ll bat at No.9. He looks like he’ll come out to bat at No.3 in the Powerplay and be the enforcer, the way he has begun practice.”
Last season was a disaster for CSK and Dhoni as the franchise finished bottom of the standings with eight points in 14 matches. Dhoni also wasn’t at his best, managing only 196 runs in 14 matches.
‘They’ve scouted very well’: R Ashwin
Ashwin feels that CSK are well-prepared for IPL 2026 and have assembled quality players. “They’ve scouted very well and boast a powerhouse of a batting lineup. Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis,Shivam Dube, Karthik Sharma, and Prashant Veer is a batting lineup, barring the inexperience in the last two, you ask how are teams going to stop this batting lineup? Even a 200 to 200 becomes really difficult for teams to stop CSK to,” he said.
“Even Jamie Overton is going great guns. Only the combination CSK decides to go with is to be seen. Ayush Mhatre, irrespective of what happens in the U-19 World Cup, will deliver in the IPL. CSK’s batting is a tough one to stop. If they get the combination and momentum right, that is a batting lineup that’s really going to make work very difficult for bowlers around the tournament,” he added.
Samson joined CSK before the auction and was traded for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. Both all-rounders joined RR.
During the auction, CSK broke the bank for uncapped Indian player Kartik Sharma, acquiring him for ₹14.2 crores, from a base price of ₹30 lakhs. The franchise also got uncapped player Prashant Veer for ₹14.2 crores, from a base price of ₹30 lakhs. Meanwhile, the likes of Rahul Chahar and Matt Henry were roped in for ₹5.2 crores and ₹2 crores, respectively.
