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 clash 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 unsure about the veteran’s IPL 2027 return.“Obviously you will get to know it next year itself. Even I’ll get to know it next year itself. Obviously, it’s a hard, hard miss for us definitely. He’s someone who can, have a fear in the opposition, especially coming in those late overs. Can really change the game, can really change the momentum just by staying at the crease. So, he’s someone, definitely we missed a lot this season. But, I mean, we never know about next season, but obviously really happy with the guys we had and, really happy with the experience they got 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 India captain never returned as the tournament progressed. He also did not travel with the team to Ahmedabad for their final league match against Gujarat Titans.CSK’s defeat on Thursday officially ended their playoff hopes and their IPL 2026 campaign. They played 14 matches, winning 6 and losing 8, finishing with 12 points and a net run rate of -0.345.After being put in to bat by CSK, Gujarat Titans posted a massive 229/4, powered by a 125-run 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 keeping in mind, we wanted to kind of chase whatever the total is as early as possible. And, obviously, when you’re chasing 230, anyway in 20 overs, it’s not going to be easy with the kind of bowling attack they have. But, just why not give it a shot and just go out there and express. And obviously, credit to them. They outplayed us in all departments,” Gaikwad said.When asked if there was any regret over winning the toss and opting to field first in the crucial match, Gaikwad said: “Not really, actually. I thought it was a bit spongy to start with. Obviously, they got off to a good start. A few errors in our bowling, we didn’t execute that well in the powerplay, especially to both of them. And once their openers get going, it’s very hard to stop them. So, obviously, even in between, there were phases where we could have capitalised, we could have restricted them to 200. But we failed to do that today.”CSK, after three consecutive wins against Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants, lost momentum and then suffered three back-to-back defeats against LSG, SRH and GT, which severely hurt their campaign.“Well, tough season to start, especially the hat-trick of losses. And then after that, once we found that momentum, obviously we found guys playing at the right spot, the right combination, everything started working. And then obviously, a couple of injuries again and again didn’t really help much, especially missing out Jamie and, you know, another all-rounder in Ramakrishna Ghosh, kind of unsettled our playing 12. We were always playing a batter short or playing a bowler short in whatever last three games we played. So obviously, not many people actually buy the fact that we are a young team, we are in a transition phase and not a lot of players who are experienced enough, especially in the toughest competition,” he said.
CSK’s IPL 2026 seson summary
| Opponent | Team | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| RR | RR | Mar 30 | Lost by 8 wkts |
| PBKS | PBKS | Apr 03 | Lost by 5 wkts |
| RCB | RCB | Apr 05 | Lost by 43 runs |
| DC | DC | Apr 11 | Won by 23 runs |
| KKR | KKR | Apr 14 | Won by 32 runs |
| SRH | SRH | Apr 18 | Lost by 10 runs |
| MI | MI | Apr 23 | Won by 103 runs |
| GT | GT | Apr 26 | Lost by 8 wkts |
| MI | MI | May 02 | Won by 8 wkts |
| DC | DC | May 05 | Won by 8 wkts |
| LSG | LSG | May 10 | Won by 5 wkts |
| LSG | LSG | May 15 | Lost by 7 wkts |
| SRH | SRH | May 18 | Lost by 5 wkts |
| GT | GT | May 21 | Lost by 89 runs |
“But given the fact that more than eight to ten players who have played just below 20 games, it’s good to have that exposure for them, especially this year. We got to know what are the areas we are lacking and definitely still to get those six wins on the road and some couple of great wins as well. So really proud of the unit. There were a few games, as I said, when we travelled to Hyderabad, we missed out on chasing 80 in 10 overs and then even last time when we played in Chennai, we could have restricted them to 180. So, a couple of games where we could have just got over the line, failed to do that, but still, very much proud,” Gaikwad said.