MS Dhoni is at the fag end of his Indian Premier League (IPL) career. The veteran, who has been Chennai Super Kings’ most successful captain, is now 44-years-old, and has failed to play even a single game in the IPL 2026 despite being the oldest uncapped player in the league. A calf injury before the start of the tournament and a thumb injury right before the conclusion of CSK’s campaign left no scope for MSD to feature in the tournament. Like it has happened over the past years since he retired from international cricket, the question that comes to the fore is – will Dhoni play one more season? Now there’s another added facet – will he become the next coach of CSK?
Will it be right for CSK to make MS Dhoni head coach?
Stephen Fleming has been CSK’s head coach for the longest time and has seen the team through to 10 finals and 5 IPL titles. However, CSK’s changing approach over the last two years (moving from having veterans to having youngsters), apart from a couple of poor seasons, might force the management to consider replacing the head coach. IPL 2026 marks the third consecutive year that CSK have failed to make it to the playoffs – having finished 5th in 2024, 10th in 2025, and 7th in 2026.
While captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, a young one who took over the reins from Dhoni in 2024, is one person who can be blamed for CSK’s failures, the coach also becomes a part of it. Now, if CSK were to replace Fleming as the head coach, then who could be better than MS Dhoni? After all, it is no history that MSD has run CSK in the manner he wants to, and has an overriding say which shadows coaches or the team management. This has been openly admitted by the management and the coaches in the past.
Image Credit: Seshadri Sukumar/ZUMA Press Wire via AlamyThere are strong reasons as to why CSK can consider Dhoni as the next head coach. First, he knows the team better than anyone else and has even been actively involved in grooming the young CSK players despite not being a part of IPL 2026. This young crop includes the Rs 14.20 crore buys Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer. Secondly, at the time of IPL 2027, MS Dhoni will be 45-years-old. Given that he has been boggled by multiple injuries that forced him to miss an entire season for the first time, it would be wise for CSK to rope in the veteran as head coach and ensure a timely change of guard from Fleming to Dhoni.
Third, Dhoni is CSK’s best captain so far, having led the team to five titles. In 244 games that he has led CSK in, he has won 145 and lost 96. He has a win percentage of over 60% as captain, making him one of the most successful ones in the IPL. Therefore, CSK’s hunt for a head coach will be cut short, simply because they have Dhoni in line. Whether he will accept the role or not is a different question. But the fact remains that there is not a lot of cricketing years left in the former Indian captain as a player. But, he could surely step in as the head coach. After all, Dhoni will never part ways with CSK as he is the face of the franchise.
SpanMatchesWonLostTiedNRW/L%W%LWin%2008-202524414596121.51059.4239.3460.12MS Dhoni’s captaincy record in IPLIn fact, former Chennai Super Kings star Ravichandran Ashwin, who returned to the franchise in 2025 and announced his retirement later on that year, has also suggested that CSK don’t need to look anywhere else for a head coach when they have MS Dhoni. Given that CSK have functioned solely based on MSD’s advice, whims and fancies over the years, he is the best option for a head coach. Not only does he know the role very well, but he can also take over the reins from Fleming with ease.
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— Ashwin (@ashwinravi99) May 23, 2026And for those who pose a question of MSD’s credentials as a coach, he has never held that position before, but has travelled as a mentor for Team India for the T20 WC. And who better to help a side who are in a transition phase than a player who knows them the best and commands respect from every single member of the squad and the team management?
Should MS Dhoni take over as CSK head coach from Stephen Fleming in IPL 2027? Inside Sport India.
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