MS Dhoni missed the entire IPL 2026 season due to injury.
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin shared his two cents on MS Dhoni’s possible participation in the upcoming IPL season, stressing that a tournament of this calibre demands rigorous match practice.
Notably, Dhoni did not play a single match in IPL 2026. This marked the first time in the tournament’s 19-year history that the former CSK captain missed an entire season.
Just before the tournament kicked off in March, CSK announced that Dhoni had suffered a calf strain. While he was initially expected to miss only the first two weeks, he aggravated the injury during his rehabilitation.
Ever since CSK's league-stage exit, discussions have shifted to Dhoni's future with the franchise. At 45 years old, it remains to be seen whether he returns as a player for IPL 2027 or not.
While Ashwin acknowledged that Dhoni's legendary career means "none of us can question" his ultimate choices, he highlighted that the physically demanding nature of modern franchise cricket requires players to put "miles on their legs" in other competitive matches beforehand to maintain elite performance.
"Just on outlook, without match practice, there is no way for him (Dhoni) 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," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
"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.
Ashwin emphasized that the choice to keep playing belongs solely to Dhoni, free from external judgment.
"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," Ashwin stated.
"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 remarked.
Meanwhile, CSK have appointed former India pacer Zaheer Khan as their new head coach. Zaheer succeeded Stephen Fleming, who ended his iconic 18-year association with the franchise after the 2026 season.