Star India cricketer drops MAJOR hint on MS Dhoni’s retirement, says, ‘IPL 2026 is…’

Robin Uthappa suggests MS Dhoni could play his final Indian Premier League season in 2026, hinting at a transition phase for the CSK legend.

IPL 2026, MS Dhoni, Robin Uthappa, CSK, Chennai Super Kings, MS Dhoni's retirement, CSK vs RR, Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag — Star India cricketer drops major hint on MS Dhoni’s retirement (Source:IANS)

IPL 2026: The stalwarts of the Indian Premier League are set to light up the stage once again as the new season is set to kick off on March 28, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru facing Sunrisers Hyderabad in the opener.

During a discussion on JioHotstar’s show IPL “Out or Out of the Park”, experts Robin Uthappa and Irfan Pathan shared their views on multiple topics. The duo debated the greatest team in IPL history, analysed how young Vaibhav Suryavanshi will perform this season, and also discussed Ruturaj Gaikwad’s captaincy, with the possibility of MS Dhoni playing his final IPL season also coming up in conversation.

Robin Uthappa believes IPL 2026 could be Dhoni’s final season

Speaking about MS Dhoni’s IPL future, Uthappa said Chennai Super Kings should continue backing Ruturaj Gaikwad as captain and not rush into handing leadership to Sanju Samson. He feels Gaikwad needs time to step out of MS Dhoni’s shadow and grow into the role, “I don’t think CSK should hand over the leadership duties to Sanju Samson. You have to give Ruturaj Gaikwad time to settle as captain. He has been leading the team since 2024. No matter what people say, he is coming out of the shadow of MS Dhoni. You want him to come out completely and stand in his own light. You want to see what he can produce. You want him to lead the team when MS is not playing and stand on his own, without that overwhelming feeling of always being under that energy.

Uthappa also suggested that IPL 2026 could be Dhoni’s final season, and said, “I think you can see Dhoni being a little more hands-off. IPL 2026 is likely to be his last year in the yellow jersey. I see him playing more of a mentor-cum-player role this year. I don’t see him batting at number seven. I see him batting at number eight. Knowing that he is on his way out, he wants to wean himself out. I think he will do that. Only then will we see the true potential of Ruturaj Gaikwad as captain. Give him a few years. If it doesn’t work, you always have Sanju Samson in the team to handle the captaincy duties.”

Add India.com as a Preferred Source

Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Chennai Super Kings are all set to kick off their IPL 2026 campaign against Riyan Parag-led Rajasthan Royals on March 30 at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati.

Source link

The Times Of Bengal