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'If Dhoni does not call it quits before the mini-auction, you will see...': MSD's future plan for IPL 2026 predicted
Robin Uthappa stated MS Dhoni's participation in IPL 2026 depended on his fitness rather than his willingness to keep playing.
Chennai Super Kings’ 2025 IPL campaign didn’t go to plan, as they finished rock bottom of the league after a poor start to the tournament. Matters were made worse after captain Ruturaj Gaikwad was forced to miss out through injury, meaning MS Dhoni came in as emergency captain for the remainder of the tournament.
At age 43, Dhoni’s future in IPL cricket remains of great interest, with this being the only form of competitive cricket he is still involved in. For a third or fourth year in a row, questions have followed the conclusion of his IPL regarding whether he will make his return for the following season. It remains up in the air for IPL 2026, with Dhoni himself not revealing anything about his plans for the future.
Nevertheless, Dhoni’s former India and CSK teammate Robin Uthappa had a strong idea of what might be the determinants for if Dhoni marks a return at the age of 44 next year. Speaking on JioStar, Uthappa explained that the urge to stay involved with cricket and compete will always be there for Dhoni, but it was a matter of how healthy he can remain between seasons with minimal action.
“It all depends on his health and how he feels. You have to understand that he really wants to play — the fire still burns,” explained Uthappa. “From what he said during the post-match presentation, it’s clear that the fire still burns to win championships, to play out there in the middle. Now it’s about going back and working on his body to bring it to the level he wants for the next IPL.”
‘You’ll see a tweet or an Instagram post…'
Dhoni played every match for CSK in 2025, and played more deliveries than he did in the last two editions combined. However, Dhoni did come in for criticism for batting too low at times CSK could have used him. This led to coach Stephen Fleming explaining that Dhoni doesn’t have the knees to keep for 20 overs and bat for more than 4 or 5.
Given this, Uthappa expected that Dhoni would make a selfless decision by either staying on with CSK or informing the team of his decision ahead of the mini-auction, so that he could be replaced.
“If that doesn’t happen, he’ll call it before the mini-auction. If not, you’ll see a tweet or an Instagram post,” predicted Uthappa, with Dhoni announcing his international retirement in a similar understated fashion on social media in 2020.
