In the view of the former Australia captain, Michael Clarke, Dhoni will surely be back in the IPL next year. On the Beyond23 Cricket podcast, Clarke said that Dhoni is the true leader of the Chennai Super Kings and that he looked forward to seeing him play again in IPL 2026.
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Clarke mentioned the big Indian stars such as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, and explained, “I believe MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma will all be in next year’s IPL. MS Dhoni is huge. Every time Chennai plays, even away from home, there are more Chennai fans than anyone else. Sponsors show up because of MS Dhoni. Fans show up for him too.”
He added that Dhoni’s retirement would be greatly felt by the franchise. “He’s the king of that franchise. They really want him to keep playing, and I don’t think people fully get the impact he’ll have when he decides to retire. It’ll be a big loss for them.”
The 2025 IPL season had not been kind to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). They were the first team to be out of the playoff race and finished last on the points table with just four wins out of 14 games. In an already precarious situation, things took a turn for the worse as Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out of action following an injury. Dhoni stepped in as captain and wicketkeeper.
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After CSK’s final game of the season, when asked about his plans for the 2026 season, Dhoni provided a somewhat vague answer, saying he was not in any rush to make a decision and that he would take his time during the year. This gave some hope to the Dhoni fans that the great man may still take the field.
