As speculation over MS Dhoni’s future continues, former India teammate Zaheer Khan believes the five-time IPL-winning captain could postpone his retirement decision for at least another year. Zaheer said Dhoni is likely to assess his fitness during the off-season and may still consider returning for one more campaign before the next mega auction reshapes CSK’s squad dynamics.
Dhoni endured a frustrating IPL 2026 season, failing to play a single match as CSK missed the playoffs for a third consecutive year. Persistent fitness issues plagued his campaign from the outset. A calf strain picked up during the pre-season ruled him out of the opening phase of the tournament, while a thumb injury later in the season effectively ended any remaining hopes of a comeback appearance.
“After the off-season he (Dhoni) will see how his body is feeling,” Zaheer said on Cricbuzz. “When it comes to the big auction, and I think the kind of direction which CSK has gone in, which is investing heavily in youngsters, when you’re retaining them, you have two slots of uncapped players.”
He continued, “This year CSK maybe in the beginning of the cycle, they used MSD as an uncapped option? So, if they find someone who is going to take the franchise forward, then MS himself, like how he decided that okay, he’s going to be an uncapped player, use that for his advantage, for the franchise’s advantage, so he will look at it that way.
“So if you have that kind of approach, then the next year becomes important for him to come back and then take that call once it comes to the big auction. If you ask him, he’s going to say that, ‘Okay, I’ll see how the off-season goes,’ which every year he’s been doing, isn’t it?”
