Over the last few years, one topic of discussion in the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) camp has been MS Dhoni's future. Dhoni, 44, is nearing the end of his IPL career, but he still receives a warm reception whenever he walks out onto the field at Chepauk.
He received a similar reception from fans when he walked out to the stadium during the CSK Roar 2026 event in Chennai on Sunday.
Dhoni was involved in a fun conversation with Kollywood actor Sivakarthikeyan during Sunday's event, and the actor suggested that Dhoni could play till he was 60 years old.
MS Dhoni's witty response to Sivakarthikeyan
“You can play till 60 also, sir," Sivakarthikeyan told the former CSK skipper. Dhoni, as always, was calm with his reply and said, “It’s very difficult."
"With your fitness, it's easy, I think," replied Sivakarthikeyan. “It’s on the way down, it’s not on the way up….I can try," replied the Ranch-born cricketer, as his response received a roar of excitement from the fans. "We have got the answer," responded Sivakarthikeyan.
Dhoni has played every season of the IPL since the inaugural edition back in 2008. He has played for CSK in all but two seasons, in 2016 and 2017, when the franchise was banned due to spot-fixing.
He played for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016 and 2017, before returning to CSK in 2018. The wicketkeeper-batter has led the Yellow Brigade to five IPL titles, with the last one coming in 2023. He gave up CSK captaincy ahead of the 2024 IPL season, handing over the baton to Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Overall, Dhoni has played 272 matches for Chennai Super Kings and has scored 5,314 runs, including 23 half-centuries. The 'Thala' is CSK's second-highest run-getter, behind 'Chinna Thala' Suresh Raina, who finished his career with 5,529 runs from 200 matches.
CSK narrowly missed the IPL playoffs in 2024 after finishing fifth, and endured a disappointing campaign in 2025, finishing in 10th and last place.
The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side will begin their IPL 2026 campaign with a match against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Guwahati on 30 March. This will be Sanju Samson's first game in CSK colours as he prepares to face his former side, RR.
Samson completed a trade move from RR to CSK, with Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran going the other way round. Curran, however, is set to miss IPL 2026 due to an injury.
