‘Next Five Years I Can Play’: Dhoni Reflects on CSK’s Struggles, Eyes 2026 Comeback

MS Dhoni played in the 18th season of the IPL for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the age of 43. He was brought into the team as an uncapped player before the 2025 season began. Later in the tournament, he took over the captaincy again after the regular skipper, Ruturaj Gaikwad, got injured and had to step away.

But Dhoni couldn’t change CSK’s luck this time, as the five-time champions were the first team to be knocked out of the playoff race. For the first time in their history, they ended up at the very bottom of the points table.

After CSK's poor performance in IPL 2025, many experts and former cricketers believe that Dhoni might not return to the tournament again. Dhoni, who turned 44 last month, didn’t give a clear answer about whether he would play in 2026, when asked after CSK’s last match of the season.

Dhoni Hints at IPL 2026 Return, Praises Ruturaj Gaikwad's Comeback

Speaking at an function, Dhoni recently hinted at his participation in the IPL next year as well and the video of the same went viral on social media.

“I just got a tick mark for the next five years I c+an play cricket. But the only catch is Doc only gave a clearance for eyesight. Body, He didn’t gave a clearance for the body. But I cannot play cricket only with my eyes,” Dhoni said.

He also said that Ruturaj Gaikwad’s return will strengthen CSK’s batting in the upcoming IPL season. 

“We were slightly worried about our batting order. But I think our batting order is quite sorted out now. Rutu (Gaikwad) will be coming back. He got injured. But he will be coming back. So, we are quite sorted now," he added.

Dhoni Reflects on CSK's Recent Struggles and Plans for Improvement

“I won’t say we (CSK) slacked off (in IPL 2025). But there were certain holes that we needed to plug in. A small auction is coming in December. Some loopholes are there, and we will try to plug those in," he added.

Dhoni admitted that the Super Kings haven't performed well in the last two seasons, but he stressed how important it is to figure out what went wrong.

“Yes, the last couple of years have not been good for us. We have not been up to the mark. But what is important is for you to see the learnings. Yes, you had a bad season. But what went wrong? And that was the question for us last year also. We were like, okay, there are some shortcomings. But first we needed to exactly figure out what were the shortcomings and then look at solutions," he said.

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