Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin believes that MS Dhoni can return to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) if the team is knocked out of the IPL 2026 play-off race.CSK have won only three of their eight matches of the IPL 2026 season so far, but there is still no clear update on Dhoni’s return.Dhoni has been struggling with a calf injury since the start of the tournament. He was expected to return for CSK’s last match against Gujarat Titans, but that didn’t happen. Ashwin, who was a part of the CSK squad last season, shared his opinion on his YouTube channel and said that the franchise will not want to take any chances as long as they are still in contention for the playoffs.“If CSK is out of the tournament, then MS Dhoni could play. CSK are still in the tournament, so why take a chance now? I still feel CSK has a chance to qualify for the playoffs. But yes, it’s tough. The way CSK have played in the last five games has given them a bit of confidence. CSK’s win is a fire if they can light three bats,” Ash said on his YouTube channel.Earlier, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming also said that Dhoni’s injury is serious enough that the team cannot rush him back.Fleming explained that if Dhoni returns too soon and re-injures his calf, he could miss the rest of the season.“But that calf is tough. If he takes it off and tears it again, then he’s gone. We pushed it early and he tweaked it again in the warmup game, I understand that. He’s just been working hard since then to get some movement in it, but there was a setback, so it took longer than we thought.”“He’s the guide in this and he’s working hard with the physio and doing all the rehab and we’re just waiting to hear from him. All I can say is stop making light of it because he’s progressing and doing everything he can,” Fleming said on Sunday after the CSK loss.Ashwin also said that CSK should fully focus on their next match against Mumbai Indians and try to win the remaining matches.“If CSK has to stay in the tournament, they have to win another match. If you can win against MI, you can get back to the mid-table. All CSK’s matches are left, they will play with good batsmen and even Ruturaj is back in form. Winning four out of six matches is not that difficult,” he added.
