For the first time in 19 editions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), MS Dhoni didn’t play even one match in the entire season, and his absence hurt the Chennai Super Kings as they got knocked out of the IPL 2026 playoffs on Thursday (May 21) after suffering a humiliating defeat by 89 runs against Gujarat Titans. After CSK’s campaign came to an end, their skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad shared a big update on Dhoni’s future with the franchise.
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During the post-match interaction, when Gaikwad was asked if Dhoni will play in the 2027 edition for CSK, he stated that everyone, including him, will get to know about that next year.
“(Will we see MS Dhoni next season?) Obviously you will get to know it next year
(in 2027) itself. Even I’ll get to know it next year itself,” Gaikwad said.
According to Gaikwad, Dhoni was a big miss for CSK in IPL 2026.
“Obviously, it’s a hard, hard miss for us definitely. He’s someone who can, have a fear in the opposition, especially coming in those late overs. Can really change the game, can really change the momentum just by staying at the crease. So, he’s someone, definitely we missed a lot this season. But, I mean, we never know about next season, but obviously really happy with the guys we had and, really happy with the experience they got this year,” he added.
In the 2026 edition of the IPL, Chennai Super Kings won 6 and suffered defeats in 8 matches.
When asked about CSK’s performance in IPL 2026, Gaikwad said that injuries to key players like Jamie Overton and Ramakrishna Ghosh derailed the team’s campaign, but he is proud of the performance of his players.
“Well, tough season to start, especially the hat-trick of losses. And then after that, once we found that momentum, obviously we found guys playing at the right spot, the right combination, everything started working. And then obviously, a couple of injuries again and again. Didn’t really help much, especially missing out Jamie (Overton) and another all-rounder in Ramakrishna Ghosh, kind of unsettled our playing 12. We were always playing a batter short or, playing a bowler short in whatever last three games we played.”
“Not many people actually buy the fact that we are a young team, we are in a transition phase and, not a lot of players who are experienced enough, especially in the toughest competition. But the given the fact that, more than eight to ten players who have… played just below the 20 games, it’s good to have that exposure for them, especially this year. We got to know what are the areas we are lacking and definitely still to get those six wins, on the road and some couple of great wins as well. So really proud of the unit,” he added.
