Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming has confirmed who will e MS Dhoni’s successor in the future ahead of IPL 2026. In a shocking move, the five-time champions decided to trade Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran for Samson to RR ahead of the mini-auction. The CSK head coach addressed the possibility of forming a team without Dhoni, while noting that the latter was going to retire sooner or later.
Samson picked as Dhoni’s replacement in CSK
Talks around Dhoni’s retirement has been doing rounds since 2021. However, the veteran has been postponing his retirement. Dhoni, who retired from international cricket in 2020, continues to play for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). However, his returns have decreased with each passing year. He’s been forced to push himself down the order. Dhoni underwent knee surgery in 2023, following which his mobility has visibly diminished.
“For us, the opportunity was there, We felt we were still a little bit light in our opening batting. And we were also looking at the fact that at some point, MS will move on,” CSK coach Fleming said.
Dhoni knows the end is near. The 44-year-old has started to prepare himself physically and mentally for his farewell. And he wishes to go out with a bang. Dhoni has been extremely disciplined with his preparations. The former CSK captain has been hitting the gym regularly and giving equal importance to cricket-related routines and workouts as well.
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
