Sanjeev Kumar
khelja|22-05-2026
Dhoni could not play a single match in this entire season.Image Credit source: PTI
The IPL 2026 season is moving towards its climax. The 'happy ending' of this season's film will be released soon. But for some teams and their fans the season is already over. The newest name added to this is that of 5-time champion Chennai Super Kings, who was eliminated from this season after losing to Gujarat Titans. Now why is Chennai out? Where was the gap left? Which player disappointed? All these questions will continue to be discussed but one aspect of it is that the team was playing without one player and that was MS Dhoni.
Dhoni could not play the entire season
The performance of legendary captain MS Dhoni, who won Chennai the IPL title a record 5 times, was just a question before the start of this season, but after the start of the season and till the end, it remained a puzzle. Dhoni took command of the team midway through the last season as captain Ruturaj Gaikwad was out due to injury. But not only Rituraj, but Dhoni also returned this season.
Although the command remained in the hands of Gaikwad, the big difference was that Dhoni did not come to play even a single match this time.
The reason was injury. Dhoni suddenly suffered a calf injury just before the start of the season, from which it took him a long time to recover. After this, when he seemed to be recovering before the end of the season, then news came that he had injured his thumb. Due to this he could not play even in the end. Dhoni came to the stadium for the first time during Chennai's last match this season at Chepauk Stadium. Then even before the last match against Gujarat, he returned to his home in Ranchi.Did CSK make a mistake regarding Dhoni?
Due to this, a big question is arising - did CSK make that mistake regarding Dhoni, for which it had to suffer the consequences? The mistake was that despite the injury, Dhoni was not replaced by any other player.
Throughout this season, Chennai struggled with injuries to many players. This trend had started even before the start of the season and continued till the end. Many players were out due to injury, the impact of which was visible on Chennai's performance. But replacements for all those players also came into the team. Only one was not replaced – MS Dhoni.It is true that Dhoni's presence with the team would have been enough to boost the morale of the young players and perhaps that is why Dhoni remained with the team. But Dhoni could have remained with the team even after being out of the tournament, like Rituraj Gaikwad was in the last season. If CSK had included any one player in place of Dhoni, then perhaps they would have had a good option, which could have changed the fortunes of the team. But now this can only be thought about.
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