MS Dhoni featured in the 18th edition of IPL for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the age of 43. The wicketkeeper-batter was signed as an uncapped player ahead of the 2025 season. He returned to the leadership role after regular skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out midway through the tournament due to injury.
However, Dhoni failed to turn CSK’s fortunes around as the five-time champions became the first team to be knocked out of the playoffs race and finished last in the points table for the first time ever.
After CSK’s dismal show in the IPL 2025, many experts and former cricketers felt that Dhoni won’t play the cash-rich league again. However, their predictions prove to be wrong as the 44-year-old is all set to turn up for the Super Kings in the 2026 season, having been retained by the franchise last month.
With barely three months remaining for the league’s 19th edition, former CSK batter Robin Uthappa expects it to be MS Dhoni’s swansong as he highlighted the franchise's youth-focused strategy in the mini-auction on Tuesday (December 16).
While the likes of Dewald Brevis (22), Ayush Mhatre (18), and Urvil Patel (27) were all retained by CSK last month, the five-time champions signed uncapped duo of Prashant Veer (19) and Kartik Sharma (20) for Rs 14.20 crore each during the auction.
With Sanju Samson also part of the CSK squad following his trade from Rajasthan Royals, Uthappa has no doubt about Dhoni's impending transition from player to mentor.
"I think the writing is on the wall. This is clearly going to be MS Dhoni's last season. No more conjecture, no more speculation about whether he is going to play another year or not. This year, he will be well and truly done," Uthappa told JioHotstar.
"I think all the signs point towards that when you look at the investment in youth and the kind of teams they have picked since last year. They are focused on developing talent, uncovering talent and keeping that talent within the franchise," he added.
CSK also roped in leg-spinner Rahul Chahar and middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan in the mini-auction.
"It's a fair call. If you can develop another Jadeja with the kind of mentorship MS Dhoni provides, along with the captaincy of Ruturaj Gaikwad, why not? That's the direction you want to move in," Uthappa stated.
"We all know that if he is not playing, he will be mentoring the side. I think this year he will operate as a mentor-cum-player. He is already viewing things from that perspective, which is why they are bringing in players like these," he remarked.
CSK’s squad for IPL 2026 season: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Jamie Overton, MS Dhoni, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Noor Ahmad, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Gopal, Khaleel Ahmed, Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, Urvil Patel, Sarfaraz Khan, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Zak Foulkes, Akeal Hosein, Rahul Chahar, Matt Henry.
