Will MS Dhoni play in IPL 2027? CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad gives ‘next year’ update.

MS Dhoni and Ruturaj Gaikwad (Image credit: BCCI/IPL) NEW DELHI: Will MS Dhoni play in IPL 2027? The future of Dhoni, who did not feature in a single match in IPL 2026, remains uncertain. After Chennai Super Kings suffered a humiliating 89-run defeat at the hands of Gujarat Titans in their IPL 2026 encounter at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad was asked about his team’s disappointing campaign, with the key question being whether Dhoni will be part of the squad next season.When asked, “Will MS Dhoni play next year?” Gaikwad admitted that even the dressing room is not sure about the return of the IPL 2027 veteran.“Obviously, you’ll find out next year. Even I’ll find out next year. Obviously, he’s a tough, tough miss for us. He’s somebody who can, scare the opposition, especially when he comes on in those late games. He can really change the game, he can really change the dynamic just by staying in the box. So he’s really happy about somebody, but we’ve definitely missed this season, but we’ve never missed it.” with the guys we’ve had and we’re really happy with the experience they’ve had this year,” Gaikwad said.Dhoni was initially ruled out for the first two weeks of the season due to a calf injury. However, the former Indian captain never made a comeback during the course of the tournament. He also did not travel with the team to Ahmedabad for their last league match against Gujarat Titans.CSK’s defeat on Thursday officially ended their playoff hopes and IPL 2026 campaign. They played 14 games, won 6 and lost 8, finishing with 12 points and a net rate of -0.345.After being put into bat by CSK, Gujarat Titans posted a massive 229/4, powered by a 125 opening partnership between Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan. In response, CSK failed to mount a challenge and were bowled out for 140 runs.“Yes, also bearing in mind we wanted to chase whatever the total was as soon as possible. And of course when you’re chasing 230, in 20 overs anyway, it’s not going to be easy with the type of bowling attack they have. But why not try and just put yourself out there.”When asked if there were any regrets about winning the toss and opting to bat first in the decider, Gaikwad said: “Not really. I thought it was a bit spongy at the start. They obviously got off to a good start. A couple of mistakes in our bowling, we didn’t execute that well in the powerplay, especially for both of them. And once their openers got very tough in between, it was obviously stopped. where we could have capitalized, we could have them limit to 200. But we didn’t manage to do that today.”CSK lost the momentum after three consecutive wins against Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants and then suffered three defeats against LSG, SRH and GT which severely damaged their campaign.“Well, the start of the season is tough, especially the hat-trick of losses. And then once we found that momentum, obviously we found the guys playing in the right place, the right combination, everything started to work. And then of course a couple of injuries again and again didn’t help much, especially with Jamie missing and, you know, another all-rounder in Ramakrishna Ghosh, we’ve always played a short, 12-bat game. In any of the last three games we’ve played, it’s obvious that few they really buy into the fact that we are a young team, we are in transition and there are not many players who are experienced enough, especially in the toughest competition,” he said.

CSK IPL 2026 Season Summary

OpponentTeamDateResultRRRRMar 30Lost by 8 wksPBKSPBKSApr 03Lost by 5 wksRCBRCBApr 05Lost by 43 runsDCDCApr 11Won by 23 runsKKRKKRAApr 14Won by 32 runsSRHSRHApr 10103WIApr runsGTGTAApr 26Lost by 8 wksMIMIMay 02Won by 8 wks.DCDCMay 05Won by 8 wks.LSGLSGMay 10Won by 5 wks.“But with more than eight to 10 players who have played a little under 20 games, it’s good for them to get some exposure, especially this year. We’ve learned what the areas are that we’re lacking and we’ve definitely still got those six wins on the road and some great wins as well. I’m really proud of the unit. There were a few games like I said when we last traveled to 10 in Hajdara and 08 when we played in Chennai, we could have restricted them to 180. So a couple of games where we could have got over the line, we didn’t, but still we are very proud,” Gaikwad said.