इम्पैक्ट प्लेयर, मेंटर या बड़ा सरप्राइज! CSK में क्या होगा MS धोनी का रोल, संजू सैमसन की एंट्री से बदले समीकरण – ms dhoni csk role IPL 2026 sanju Samson Impact Player analysis tspok

Thala, Captain Cool, Mastermind, Mahi… MS Dhoni, decorated with all such names, will once again be seen showing his magic at the age of 44. IPL (Indian Premier League) is starting from 28th March. The first match of Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings is against Rajasthan Royals on 30 March.

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Mahendra Singh Dhoni There is speculation regarding this, and it should be considered as speculation that this could be his last IPL season. Because the second meaning of Dhoni is surprise, it would not be a big deal if he is seen playing for a few more seasons in the future.

His fanbase would want Dhoni to play and play a lot, but the big question is that this time when Sanju Samson has joined the Chennai team, and he himself is a wicketkeeper, what will happen next? There is also an option for wicketkeeper in this team, Urvil Patel. In such a situation, at which number will Thala bat?

What will be Dhoni’s role in Chennai Super Kings (CSK) team? There are many questions regarding whether he will play as an impact player or whether he will remain as a player. The question is not just about playing, but also about team combination.

The thing to be noted is that one of the reasons for the following of Chennai team is ‘Brand Dhoni’, the crowd that is seen for him after he comes on the field has a different craze. In the last few seasons, Dhoni may not have been playing at the top order, but whenever he played a ball, a spike was seen in the live streaming of the match.

During the 2023 season, Ravindra Jadeja had said in a statement that whenever he comes to bat in the top order for CSK, the fans pray for his early dismissal so that they can see Mahi Bhai (Dhoni) batting. This clearly shows that the fans want Dhoni to come and play in the upper order.

Many veteran cricketers have also said this about the fans, recently AB de Villiers Recently had raised questions about Dhoni’s role. De Villiers had clearly said that if Dhoni is batting down and is not even captaining, then it seems that he is filling a place in the team for the wrong reasons.

AB had suggested that Dhoni should bat higher, at least No. 6, and sometimes even 5 or 4. Actually, this is the same thing that the fans of Chennai Super Kings’ home ground MA Chidambaram (Chepauk) were feeling for the last one season, but were not able to say it openly, they were feeling sad again and again.

Master of the craft! ⚔️ #WhistlePodu #yellow pic.twitter.com/7iGWGra2v1

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) March 13, 2026

In the last few years, during Chennai’s IPL match in Chepauk, only one question is clearly visible in the eyes of the fans, and that is when will Dhoni come to bat? Commentators also used to wait in the same place while commenting. As soon as he appeared on the stairs of the dressing room, the whole atmosphere changed, a spike was also seen in the noise meter. Just his standing in the dressing room and doing something becomes news.

Dhoni batted at number nine twice in IPL 2025
If we talk about statistics, in IPL 2025, Dhoni batted in 13 innings of 14 matches, during which he mostly came to bat at the lower order. Dhoni batted once at number 5 and scored 27 runs. Scored 16 runs in 2 matches at number six. At number seven he scored 83 runs in 4 matches. At number eight, Dhoni scored 39 runs in 4 matches.

The extent was such that Dhoni batted at number nine twice in the last season of IPL. On March 28, against RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore), he came out to play at number nine and scored 30 runs unbeaten.

And on April 11, against KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders), he came to play at number nine and was out after scoring 1 run. The surprising thing is that in that match, players like Ravichandran Ashwin, Vijay Shankar had come to play above Dhoni.

Dhoni never played initially at number nine in his entire IPL career, but in the last few seasons he came to play at the lower order. Dhoni is coming to play in the death overs in the last season and that too very late, this is the time when his team was in trouble on most of the occasions, more runs were required and less wickets were left. Some of his innings were memorable, but many times the team also lost. The noise of Chepauk, which once seemed to guarantee victory, has also subsided.

Dhoni’s batting position year by year

Why doesn’t Dhoni come to bat at the top of the order?
The question is why Dhoni does not come to play in the top order, then the reason is that the team already has players like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dewald Brewis, Shivam Dubey and now Sanju Samson. In such a situation, with Dhoni coming up, a young player will have to play down.

In such a situation, batting down as an impact player can be an option, where more impact can be made in fewer balls, but now the opposing teams are also ready for this, in the last season they have used spinners especially against Dhoni, because at the age of 44, his reflexes are not the same as before.

Overall, De Villiers’ point is the essence of this whole issue that a player like Dhoni should not be there just to fill a place in the team. He will have to show his old impact and fly the helicopter.

Dhoni’s entry position in IPL 2025

1. No. 8 vs MI: 0* (4 runs needed) – CSK won
2. No. 9 vs RCB: 30* (16) – CSK lost by 50 runs
3. No. 7 vs RR: 16 (11) – lost by 6 runs
4. No. 7 vs DC: 30* (26) – lost by 25 runs
5. No. 5 vs PBKS: 27 (12) – lost by 18 runs
6. No. 9 vs KKR: 1 (4) – lost by 8 wickets
7. No.7 vs LSG: 26 (11) – Win
8. No. 6 vs MI: 4 (6) – lost by 9 wickets
9. No. 8 vs SRH: 6 (10) – lost by 5 wickets
10. No. 7 vs PBKS: 11 (4) – lost by 4 wickets
11. No. 6 vs RCB: 12 ​​(8) – lost by 2 runs
12. No. 8 vs KKR: 17 (18) – Win
13. No. 8 vs RR: 16 (17) – lost by 6 wickets
14. Did not get to bat in the last match against Gujarat on 25th May.

At the same time, it is certain that Dhoni himself has a different kind of attachment to Chennai Super Kings. Responding to the speculations about his retirement in March 2025, Dhoni had jokingly said – Even if I am in a wheelchair, CSK people will still drag me (on the field). His statement shows his loyalty towards his team Chennai Super Kings and the team’s unwavering faith in him. In such a situation, Dhoni and CSK are synonymous with each other.

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