Aakash Chopra: Dhoni Should Retire If Playing as Impact Player

Just like it has been with every season over the last few years, the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) also brings it with a red-hot question: Is this the last season Dhoni will be seen in CSK's iconic yellow colours. With Ruturaj Gaikwad at helm since a while, the team featuring plenty of youngsters and wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson traded from Rajasthan Royals to the Yellow franchise, the talks have only intensified now.

It has long been speculated that season after all could be Dhoni's last season, with his knee issues persisting. Dhoni even acknowledged his declining level of fitness during the 'ROAR 26' fan event at Chepauk stadium, saying that "it is on the way down". These fitness, age and knee-related issues have caused him to shift to the lower-middle-order and unleash some big hits during the death overs phase, preserving his body and also entertaining the 'Thala Kingdom'.

Speaking on JioStar's 'IPL Today Live', JioStar expert Aakash said that one cannot run the team from a dugout, as it is the case with managers in football, while taking note of Dhoni's biggest gifts: game-reading, clarity and conviction. He also said that with his "heir apparent" finally in CSK now, it could be his last season, and he should hang up his boots instead of playing as an Impact Player.

"You do not run the team from the dugout, it's not football. In cricket, you need to be on the field, and MS Dhoni's biggest asset is his ability to read the game better than anybody else. That clarity and conviction are what make him who he is. In any case, I feel this could be his last season. He has the heir apparent now. Sanju Samson will eventually don the gloves, it could even happen at some stage during this season. Again, conditions apply in terms of MS Dhoni's fitness and his knee. But he cannot be the Impact Player. If he is playing as an Impact Player, I think it's time for him to hang up his boots," said Aakash.

In 278 matches, Dhoni has made 5,439 runs in 242 innings at an average of 38.30 and a strike rate of 137.45, including 24 fifties and a best score of 84*. He is the sixth-highest run-getter in the tournament history.

Aakash also reckoned that Dhoni might not be the "unofficial captain' of CSK now and has taken the backseat, taking in account the number of youngsters in the squad. Amid a poor season last year, CSK included several youngsters in the team, with Dewald Brevis, Ayush Mhatre, and Urvil Patel injecting some six-hitting and fearlessness in the squad last year.

For this year, CSK has taken more steps to shed the 'Daddy's Army' tag, which they got due to an ageing squad a few years back, bringing in names like Nathan Ellis, Sarfaraz Khan and splashing big bucks on young domestic stars Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer (Rs 14.20 crores each), with the latter being touted as Ravindra Jadeja's replacement, with the veteran being traded to RR.

"There is a small analogy. If you want your baby to start walking, you need to hold their hand and teach them. But if you want them to run, you need to let go. If you keep holding on, they will never learn to run. From Dhoni's point of view, if somebody has been anointed as the next Captain, then he has to take a backseat, and I think he already has," he said.

"If you look at the auction and the way the team has been built, it is not the team MS Dhoni would have built if it were left entirely to him. Would he go with these many youngsters in one go? This is Ruturaj Gaikwad's team. MS Dhoni will observe things and not say much. He might offer advice here and there, but that's where it stops. He did that well with Virat Kohli at the international level as well, allowing them to grow and prosper. And if they seek help, he is always there," he signed off.

Chennai Super Kings full squad for IPL 2026: Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Jamie Overton, MS Dhoni, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Noor Ahmad, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Gopal, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, Urvil Patel, Sarfaraz Khan (Rs 75 lakh), Kartik Sharma (Rs 14.20 Cr), Prashant Veer (Rs 14.20 Cr), Matthew Short (Rs 1.50 Cr), Aman Khan (Rs 40 lakh), Zak Foulkes (Rs 75 lakh), Akeal Hosein (Rs 2 Cr), Rahul Chahar (INR 5.2 Cr), Matt Henry (Rs 2 Cr).

- ANI