Who expressed the possibility that Dhoni will sit in the dugout from next season as a mentor?
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Robin Uthappa, who has played for Chennai Super Kings under the captaincy of Dhoni, believes that this time's IPL will be the last season of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He said, “IPL 2026 will probably be his last year in the yellow jersey. I think this year he will play the role of mentor-cum-player.”
Who expressed the possibility that Dhoni will sit in the dugout from next season as a mentor?
New Delhi. Before the start of Indian Premier League 2026, there is only one question in everyone's mind. Will this be the last season of Mahendra Singh Dhoni? This time most of the focus will be on Chennai Super Kings, because fans want to know what will be the future of MS Dhoni. Retirement speculation has intensified, especially after Sanju Samson joined the team in one of the most shocking trade deals in the history of the tournament. It remains to be seen whether the CSK stalwart will retire from IPL in the next few months or as usual, he will avoid this question by saying 'Definitely Not'.
Robin Uthappa, who has played for Chennai Super Kings under the captaincy of Dhoni, believes that the former captain can say goodbye to his IPL career in 2026. Speaking on GeoHotstar's IPL show 'Out or Out of the Park', the former wicketkeeper-batsman said that Dhoni will be seen playing the role of a mentor this season. He said, “IPL 2026 will probably be his last year in the yellow jersey. I think this year he will play the role of mentor-cum-player.”
He further said, “I don't think he will bat at number seven. He will bat at number eight. He knows he is going to go out, so he wants to take himself out slowly. I think he will do that. Only then will we be able to see the real potential of Ruturaj Gaikwad as a captain. Give him a few years. If that doesn't work, then you have Sanju Samson to take over the captaincy.”
Uthappa believes that there will not be much change in CSK with the arrival of Sanju. He said that the management would like to give more time to Ruturaj Gaikwad to prove himself as captain. “I don't think CSK should give the responsibility of captaincy to Sanju Samson. You should give time to Ruturaj Gaikwad to settle down as captain. He has been captaining the team since 2024. No matter what people say, he is coming out of the shadow of MS Dhoni,”
“You want him to fully come out and create his own identity. You want to see what he can do. You want him to lead the team when MS Dhoni is not playing and stand on his own identity, without that huge pressure. So I think Dhoni will be a little behind this time,”
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