Summary of this article
IPL 2026 will most probably be MS Dhoni's last IPL
He will play his last match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai
Sanju Samson will take on the wicket-keeping duties for CSK in Dhoni's absence
MS Dhoni is arguably the most successful captain in the history of the Indian Premier League. The wicket-keeper batter, before giving captaincy reins of Chennai Super Kings to Ruturaj Gaikwad completely, led the franchise to five IPL titles, making it one of the most successful ones in the league's history.
Speculations are ripe that this could be the last season of Dhoni in CSK colours, and the trade of another prominent wicket-keeper batter, Sanju Samson, in the camp states that the franchise has finally started looking beyond the talismanic MS Dhoni.
MS Dhoni - A Talismanic Career Nears End
Now, the major question revolving around the minds of average Indian fans is how many games will Dhoni play in the IPL from here on. While it's very difficult to gauge what's going on in his mind, let's try to figure it out by putting things into context.
MD Dhoni is certainly an IPL legend as apart from the the five IPL titles as captain, he has amassed 5,439 runs to his name in the league and at average of 38.30 and a strike rate of 137.45.
However, more than the plethora of runs and 158 catches and 47 stumpings he has under his name, he is known for his astute captaincy and sharp reading of the game but as they say, every good thing comes to an end, sadly the end of a one defining chapter of IPL is near.
This will probably be MS Dhoni's last season in the IPL, as he has been grappling with knee issues from the last few years, which have seen him missing considerable IPL matches in the past.
On top of that, MS Dhoni has been limited only to a few balls as a batter, which has shaken up the team's composition, as reflected in CSK's bottom finish last year.
Also, in the last few years, Dhoni's role has mostly been that of a guiding figure from behind the wickets rather than that of a batter, and if Sanju takes on the wicket-keeping duties for the majority of the IPL, then playing Dhoni as an impact sub-batter doesn't make much sense.
CSK was always known to back experience over young flamboyance; however, at this time, they are going in with a young team and will try to form a new core for the future, which also indicates that the mindset of the franchise on how to approach the tournament is going through a paradigm change.
So, it's highly unlikely that Dhoni will play IPL beyond this season, and his presence this year, too, could be limited. However, one thing is sure, that as Dhoni once wished that he wanted to play his last IPL match at the Chepauk Stadium, which is most likely to be fulfilled in IPL 2026.
