The career of many young and new players is going to start in IPL 2026. Be it players coming from Under-19 cricket or experienced foreign players entering this league for the first time, IPL 2026 will prove to be a beginning for many new faces. But apart from these, this could also be the last season of the career of some players and the biggest name in this is MS Dhoni, the discussions about whom do not end. But not only Dhoni, apart from him there are some legends too, for whom this season may prove to be the last.
ms dhoni
The biggest and successful stars in IPL history ms dhoni He is about to turn 45 and is playing his 19th consecutive season. There has been speculation for the last 2-3 seasons about the career of Dhoni, who has played maximum 278 matches in this tournament so far. But this time it may prove to be his last season because the change he was hoping for in CSK has been fulfilled with the appointment of Ruturaj Gaikwad as the captain and the arrival of Sanju Samson.
Mitchell Starc
This season could also be the last for Australia’s legendary fast bowler Mitchell Starc. Starc, who has been continuously active in all three formats, has already retired from T20 International. In such a situation, it is unlikely that he will stay in this league for much longer. Especially in view of the ODI World Cup to be held next year, he can leave this league to keep himself fresh and fit for it. In such a situation, this could be the last season of the 36 year old pacer.
Ishant Sharma
Indian cricket team’s veteran fast bowler Ishant Sharma can also play his last season in this league. 37 year old Ishant has been playing in this league since the first season and has always been active except for only 3 seasons. But in the last 5 seasons he could not play 10 matches even once and there is a possibility of the same happening this year too. In such a situation, along with Gujarat Titans, his IPL career may also end this year.
Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey, the first Indian batsman to score a century in IPL, has not been as effective in the last 4-5 years as he was at the beginning of his career. This is the reason that in the last 5 seasons from 2021 till now, he has played only 28 matches and during this period he has been a part of 4 different teams. Currently, 36-year-old Manish Pandey is in KKR, where he won the title in 2014 and again in 2024 and it seems that his career can be completed here.
Sunil Narine
Along with Manish Pandey, this could also be the last season for KKR’s veteran all-rounder Sunil Narine. There were talks of releasing Narine, who was 37 years old, even after the last season, but then only Andre Russell was released. In such a situation, if his performance with bat and ball is not very good this season, then this could be his last season. This season anyway, he will have to show more magic with the ball because with the arrival of Finn Allen and Tim Seifert, his chances of playing in the opening or top order have ended.