The speculation over the cricket future of MS Dhoni is something that has dominated the discourse around the Indian Premier League or IPL ever since he announced in 2020 that he would be walking away from international cricket.
Despite that, Dhoni has continued to play for and even lead the Chennai Super Kings, even though he gave up captaincy ahead of the 2024 season.
Dhoni’s appearances for CSK have also become limited to batting cameos as the impact player rule has made batting line-ups deeper, meaning he would sometimes come to bat as low as number 8 in the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
And when asked again about when it is he could keep playing till, he suggested he’s been cleared to play for the next 5 years – but there is a twist!
Dhoni’s Non-answer on Retirement
Dhoni jokingly remarked that his eyesight has been given a five-year clearance for that, but he will need to listen to his body too and that is something that he cannot ignore.
“I just got a tick mark that I can play cricket for the next five years. But the catch is that I have been given clearance only for eyesight. I need clearance for my body as well. I cannot play cricket just with my eyes alone,” he said in an event.
His remarks leave the door open to both a sudden retirement or continuing on in the league for the next season at the very least – but something else he said indicates which of those scenarious is likelier.
Dhoni Hints at IPL 2026 Involvement
Dhoni had to lead the side for a good chunk of the 2025 season due to a sudden injury to captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. It did not help the side as they failed to make the playoffs again.
However, he also spoke about needing to fix the issues of the squad in the upcoming auction, hinting at his involvement not only behind the scenes but in the IPL 2026 too.
“I feel more often than not, we have been able to figure out what exactly went wrong. A small auction is coming in December, some loopholes are there, and we will try to plug those,” he said.
Dhoni has consistently insisted on taking it on a year by year basis regarding his IPL future and it seems that won’t change heading into next year’s edition too.