“I feel this could be his last season. He has the heir apparent now. Sanju Samson will eventually don the gloves, it could even happen at some stage during this season,” he said.
“Again, conditions apply in terms of MS Dhoni’s fitness and his knee. But he cannot be the Impact Player. If he is playing as an Impact Player, I think it’s time for him to hang up his boots.”
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When asked whether MS Dhoni is still the unofficial captain of Chennai Super Kings on the field, Akash Chopra said, “There’s a small analogy. If you want your baby to start walking, you need to hold their hand and teach them. But if you want them to run, you need to let go. If you keep holding on, they will never learn to run. From Dhoni’s point of view, if somebody has been anointed as the next Captain, then he has to take a backseat, and I think he already has.”
“If you look at the auction and the way the team has been built, it is not the team MS Dhoni would have built if it were left entirely to him. Would he go with these many youngsters in one go? This is Ruturaj Gaikwad’s team.”
MS Dhoni will observe things and not say much, he added. “He might offer advice here and there, but that’s where it stops.”Dhoni has featured in 278 IPL matches across two franchises – CSK and Rising Pune Supergiant during the 2016 and 2017 seasons when CSK were suspended – scoring 5,439 runs in the tournament.
Last season, he was mostly seen in brief cameo roles during the death overs, scoring 196 runs from 13 innings.
CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan has stated that the veteran will be available for the full season and is expected to play “all matches” in the 2026 campaign.