MS Dhoni’s IPL future as a cricketer is being discussed, meanwhile Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming has given a big statement. The coach told who will be Dhoni’s successor in the team. Let us tell you that before the IPL auction, the franchise included Sanju Samson in their team by trading them, in return they let go of an experienced all-rounder like Ravindra Jadeja. Fleming talked about the possibility of forming a team without Dhoni.
Has Samson come as Dhoni’s replacement?
The news of MS Dhoni’s retirement from IPL has been going on since 2021, although after every season he told that he will continue playing. Dhoni retired from international cricket in 2020, who still plays for Chennai Super Kings. Although he has left the captaincy of CSK. Now he has started declining significantly in batting also. After the knee surgery in 2023, there has been a decrease in Dhoni’s agility.
InsideSport quoted Chennai Super Kings head coach Fleming as saying, “There was an opportunity for us, we felt that our opening batting was a bit weak. And we were also thinking that at some point of time we would have to move ahead from MS Dhoni.”
MS Dhoni also knows that now his IPL career as a cricketer is not very long. Dhoni is currently 44 years old, who is preparing himself physically and mentally to play next year.
Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa, who played with him in CSK, also feels that MS Dhoni will retire after IPL 2026. He feels this because the team is now giving more importance to young players than experience. CSK has bought 2 uncapped players Karthik Sharma (14.2 crore) and Prashant Veer (14.2 crore) for IPL 2026 for Rs 28.4 crore.
Chennai Super Kings Squad 2026 (Retained and Purchased Players)
- Anshul Kamboj (Retained) – 3.4 crores
- Gurjapneet Singh (Retained) – 2.2 crores
- Jamie Overton (Retained) – Rs 1.5 crore
- MS Dhoni (Retained) – 4 crores
- Mukesh Chaudhary (Retained) – 30 lakhs
- Nathan Ellis (Retained) – Rs 2 crore
- Noor Ahmed (Retained) – Rs 10 crore
- Ramakrishna Ghosh (retained) – 30 lakhs
- Sanju Samson (Trade) – 18 crores
- Ruturaj Gaikwad (Retained) – 18 crores
- Shivam Dubey (Retained) – 12 crores
- Ayush Mhatre (Ret.) – 30 lakhs
- Dewald Brevis (retained) – 2.2 crores
- Urvil Patel (Retained) – 30 lakhs
- Khaleel Ahmed (Retained) – 4.8 crores
- Shreyas Gopal (Retained) – 30 lakhs
- Akeal Hosein (Sold) – 2 Crore
- Prashant Veer (Sold) – 14.2 crores
- Karthik Sharma (Sold) – 14.2 crores
- Matthew Short (Sold) – Rs 1.5 crore
- Aman Khan (Sold) – 40 lakhs
- Sarfaraz Khan (Sold) – 75 lakhs
- Matt Henry (Sold) – Rs 2 crore
- Rahul Chahar (Sold) – Rs 5.2 crore
- Zachary Foulkes (Sold) – 75 lakhs
