It is that time of the year when fans around the globe are all set to see MS Dhoni in action in a short bit. The former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain has touched down in the Tamil Nadu capital and commenced preparations for Indian Premier League (IPL 2026). The five-time champions registered an unwanted record in the previous edition of the tournament by finishing at the rock-bottom of the points table.
Dhoni starts preparation for IPL 2026
Dhoni, among a host of other CSK stars, were seen arriving in Chennai on Saturday ahead of IPL 2026 – for which the BCCI is yet to unveil the official schedule. The team had a net session on Sunday where multiple members were seen taking a swing with the bat and trying their luck with the ball in terms of warming up before the marquee tournament. 44-year-old Dhoni will be the oldest uncapped player in the tournament, although it has been indicated in the recent past that he might not play all the matches following Sanju Samson’s trade to CSK from RR.
The team added a total of nine players to their squad in the auction that concluded late last year. Among the stars who the 5-time champions have recruited are uncapped stars Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer – both of whom are the joint highest-paid uncapped players so far in the history of the IPL. Other stars include the prolific Sarfaraz Khan, former SRH spinner Rahul Chahar, West Indies’ Akeal Hosein among others.
CSK squad for IPL 2026
MS Dhoni (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sanju Samson (traded in from RR), Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brewis✈️, Shivam Dube, Urvil Patel, Noor Ahmad✈️, Nathan Ellis✈️, Shreyas Gopal, Khaleel Ahmed, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Mukesh Choudhary, Jamie Overton✈️, Gurjapneet Singh, Anshul Kamboj, Akeal Hosein✈️, Prashant Veer, Kartik Sharma (wk), Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar, Zak Foulkes
