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CSK's MS Dhoni and Sanju Samson in action. (FILE photo)
Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa has said that given the squad Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) have on their hands after the IPL 2026 auction, this feels “like the right time” for franchise cornerstone Mahendra Singh Dhoni to step away from the side.
“I don’t think his (Dhoni’s) role changes dramatically because this transition has been ongoing for a while. Ever since the captaincy returned to him from Ravindra Jadeja, you could see that he’s been gradually shifting responsibility year after year. Each season, more responsibility has moved towards Ruturaj Gaikwad. When you look at this squad now, it genuinely feels like the right time for Dhoni to step away, because many of these players were literally kids when he first started playing the IPL. From here, CSK will need to identify a core from within this group and build forward,” Uthappa said on JioHotstar’s TATA IPL Auction Review show.
CSK’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni speaks to his Chennai Super Kings teammates in a huddle. (FILE photo)
ALSO READ | Why CSK spent heavily on youth and KKR on overseas performers at the IPL 2026 Auction
In the IPL 2026 mini-auction, five-time champions Chennai picked nine players. The most eye-catching of the nine picks were all-rounder Prashant Veer and wicketkeeper-batter Kartik Sharma. Both players started the auction with a base price of Rs 30 lakhs but were bought by CSK for Rs 14.2 crore in the mini-auction. Besides these two, CSK also picked Sarfaraz Khan, Rahul Chahar, Matt Henry, Akeal Hosein, Matthew Short, Zak Foulkes and Aman Khan in the IPL 2026 auctions. For Chennai, which has traditionally been a franchise that relies on experience and proven names, this is a signal of a paradigm shift, the team is now investing in uncapped Indian players, headlined by 19-year-old Kartik and 20-year-old Prashant.
But even before the auction, CSK have made decisive moves about its leadership group within the side. Ahead of the IPL mini-auction, CSK had opted to trade Ravindra Jadeja, a man it had once entrusted captaincy on, along with Sam Curran to Rajasthan Royals in exchange for Sanju Samson, who was the skipper of RR for many seasons.
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