Has Mahendra Singh Dhoni already played his last match in the IPL? The former Chennai Super Kings captain hasn’t featured in the team for a single game in this edition even after recovering from a calf strain.
CSK take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their final match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Monday, but Dhoni’s participation remains uncertain. Their last league match is against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, three days later.
The CSK stalwart has been a reluctant traveller to away games this season and also hasn’t been a regular on match days at the Chepauk. He was booked on a commercial flight to Lucknow earlier this week, but changed his mind at the last minute.
He accompanied the side for only two away games — in Hyderabad and Mumbai — this time. “He always wants what’s best for the team and he was worried that if he came, there’d be a bit too much of a distraction,” batting coach Mike Hussey said earlier this month.
CSK, having staged a dramatic turnaround in the mid-stages of the tournament, are again at the risk of missing the playoffs after their loss to Lucknow Super Giants on Friday. The five-time champions now have to win their remaining two matches and hope some other results go their way.
A senior CSK functionary refused to comment on the line-up, saying the team management has left it entirely to their former captain to take a call on his availability. Dhoni, however, has been a regular at practice sessions in Chennai and his valuable inputs have helped youngsters, notably batter Kartik Sharma and the spin duo of Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad.
Dhoni, who will turn 45 in July, doesn’t play any cricket outside the IPL, and wouldn’t want to disturb the team balance at this critical phase of the tournament. That has been one of the main reasons for his continued absence this season since his recovery.
There’s a strong possibility that he could be rusty, given his prolonged absence from competitive cricket, and he would be the last man to let that affect the team at this stage.
The last time he featured in an IPL match was in CSK’s last group engagement against the Titans in IPL 2025.
Dhoni led the franchise to their fourth IPL title in 2021 and, in a heart-warming speech, had promised his fans that they would certainly see him playing a “farewell game” at their beloved Chepauk. “Whether it’s next year or in five years’ time, we don’t really know,” Dhoni said.
Ruturaj Gaikwad has been the designated captain, but he has often acknowledged that Dhoni is the ‘big man’ in the side.
Thala, as he is popularly called by the CSK fans in Chennai, has never believed in a grand farewell. He is not one to bow out in a traditional manner with much glitz and fanfare, but would prefer to keep it a secret. That is how he had bid adieu to international cricket, in silence and far from the madding crowd.
If Dhoni doesn’t play on Monday to maintain the sanctity of continuity and team balance, will he make himself available for another edition to live up to his promise? Or will he choose to go out silently, preferring to announce it in a social media post once the season has ended?