MS Dhoni and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had already wrapped up a forgettable Indian Premier League (IPL)2025 season, but the debate about the legendary wicketkeeper batter MS Dhoni and his future has been growing with the 43-year-old continues to maintain secrecy over his chances of playing next season.
The chatter around MS Dhoni’s IPL future continued to dominate headlines as Chennai Super Kings took on Gujarat Titans in their final match of IPL 2025 . While CSK were eliminated from the IPL 2025 playoffs race, the intrigue over MS Dhoni’s decision became a topic of discussion between both fans and experts.
MS Dhoni did not confirm whether he will be playing next season or not but social media was filled with fans having their say on the topic. While there were some who suggested that MS Dhoni should have retired earlier, an overwhelming majority asked him to continue playing in the competition.
MS Dhoni’s IPL season in 2024 and 2025
A section of fans wondered if MS Dhoni had played his last match for CSK on Saturday, May 18 and whether his IPL career ended in a heartbreak. Dhoni’s valiant effort of 25 off 13 balls was not enough as the Super Kings crashed out of the playoffs race after losing to RCB by 27 runs in their must-win IPL 2024 match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Dhoni hit a 110m-six when CSK needed 17 runs in the last over bowled by Yash Dayal. Dhoni was not able to control his emotions as he was seen angry after getting out in the second delivery of the final over. Dhoni punched his bat while walking back to the dugout and was seen tensed in the dugout even as Yash Dayal completed a terrific final over and sealed the deal for RCB.
MS Dhoni was seen walking off the field after the customary post-match handshake as the disappointment on his face was visible after having missed a golden opportunity to seal another famous win for the Super Kings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Quite a few fans urged MS Dhoni not to retire after the heartbreaking defeat and urged the 42-year-old to continue playing in the IPL for at least one more year. A section of fans also pointed out that MS Dhoni’s international career also ended in heartbreak as India lost the ODI World Cup semi-final in 2019 to New Zealand after a fifty from the veteran wicketkeeper-batter. While Dhoni did not announce retirement after the match, he confirmed the end of his international career on August 15, 2020 in a famous Instagram post.
MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja came up with valiant efforts with the bat after CSK were reduced to 129 for 6 in the 15th over. Barring Rachin Ravindra (61) and Ajinkya Rahane (33), none of the other CSK batters were able to get going after RCB posted a mammoth total of 218 in 20 overs.
CSK needed 201 to reach the playoffs as the result did not matter for the 5-time champions. However, RCB did wonderfully well to restrict CSK to 191 for 7 in 20 overs. Jadeja remained unbeaten on 42 off 22, but his effort was not enough. If MS Dhoni announces retirement in the near future, he will end his IPL career as the joint-most successful captain. He would finish with 5243 runs in 264 matches and as the most successful captain in terms of win percentage, having led 226 times in the T20 league.
However as luck would have its say MS Dhoni aged 43 returned to play for CSK as uncapped player in 2025 eventually turning out to captain the side after 5 matches due to injury to regular skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad.MS Dhoni is the most capped player in IPL history. He was retained for Rs 4 crore by CSK ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auctions.
Although CSK ended their IPL 2025 campaign with a commanding win in their final league game, the 43-year-old MS Dhoni struggled to replicate his past form.
MS Dhoni managed 196 runs in 14 matches at an average of 24.50. His strike rate of 135.17 marked a significant drop from the explosive 220.55 he recorded in the previous season. Ahead of the 2026 season, there were trending news about MS Dhoni’s retirement from the yellow Jersey. However MS Dhoni opened on his retirement recently also addressing the loopholes that CSK needs to address before the 2026 season.
CSK is worried with the batting order- MS Dhoni
Chennai Super Kings great MS Dhoni has confirmed that he is deemed fit by the doctor to play competitive cricket in the coming 5 years. Chennai Super Kings’ greatest-ever player and currently the highest scorer, surpassing the former highest scorer Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni’s career with the franchise has been under scrutiny ever since the player resumed playing in every edition, even after he retired from International cricket.
MS Dhoni, who has been asked on several occasions about what his plans are for continuing with the IPL or if he is considering announcing his retirement, has finally made a massive revelation and has cleared his intentions to play the game for several years to come.
MS Dhoni’s retirement has been a major concern for the opposition, while CSK has still kept faith in the veteran wicket-keeper. Dhoni, who knows bats much down the order, was retained by the Chennai Super Kings as an uncapped player in the previous season with a price tag of just INR 4 Crores.
Recently, in a talk show, MS announced that he has been cleared by his doctor to play cricket for the next 5 years. He then revealed that the doctor had only given a tick mark for his eyesight while not commenting on his body.
Dhoni’s physical fitness has often been referred to as an ideal for several sportsmen. His ability to cover the ground, leap around for grabs with the gloves on, and electrifying speed behind the wickets continues to impress several players of the current generation.
“I just got a tick mark; for the next 5 years, I can play cricket. But the only catch is, the doc only gave a clearance for eyesight; for the body, he did not give a clearance. I cannot play cricket only with my eyes,” Dhoni was quoted as saying in the video.
There were talks that CSK are possibly targeting Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson, as the wicket-keeper batsman could be a possible backup for MSD in the Men in Yellow camp. He can also solve CSK’s top-order batting worries, as Samson is flexible to play in the top 3, having scored most of his runs in that position.
However, with MS Dhoni’s supposed longer stay and the return of CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad also seemingly imminent, the talks on Sanju Samson seem to have been sidelined for the time being.