MS Dhoni has been more than just a legend or an icon for Chennai Super Kings. He has been their emotion. Their heartbeat. Even without a single appearance throughout IPL 2026, Dhoni remained at the centre of discussion and continued to dominate headlines. That frenzy reached fever pitch when he was spotted at Chepauk for the first time this season on a CSK matchday, only for reports to later reveal that yet another injury setback had kept him sidelined again.
While the mere sight of Dhoni at the stadium left fans and experts speculating over a possible return, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar admitted he has completely lost interest in the whole saga.
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Dhoni missed all 13 of Chennai’s matches this season because of not one, but three injury setbacks — two related to his calf and another reportedly involving his thumb. His absence from the starting XI despite being present inside the Chepauk dressing room during CSK’s final home game of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday only intensified speculation around whether he would finally feature in the last league game against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad later this week.
Speaking to Sportstar, Manjrekar admitted he is exhausted talking about the Dhoni topic and accused CSK of mishandling the entire phenomenon, delivering a brutally honest assessment of the franchise’s emotional attachment to its greatest icon.
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“To be very honest, I’ve exhausted myself so much talking about another icon. I’ve got nothing left to say about Dhoni. And if you want a very short and brutally honest answer, it doesn’t matter. Whether he plays, whether he doesn’t play, and all that, yeah, CSK have handled that situation very differently and something that I’ve lost interest in,” he said.
When pressed further on whether Dhoni would make an appearance in CSK’s final game of the season, Manjrekar admitted he no longer really cares about that aspect because, for him, the best version of Dhoni will always remain the one seen in India colours.
He could not stop praising Dhoni’s captaincy and even claimed that a prime Dhoni would have taken this current CSK side into the playoffs.
“I mean, what he’s done for India is something that I’ll take to bed every time. He is one of my favourite captains and one of the all-time greats. Just love Dhoni for what he did. The current version is obviously a shadow of himself, and this CSK just handled that Dhoni phenomenon very poorly, resulting in the whole team just messing up. So, whether Dhoni plays one last game or not, it’s something for his fans and everyone to enjoy, but I just take the Dhoni I saw at the India level and at CSK as well. Even this team that we see, the CSK team, if Dhoni in his prime was leading this team, this team would have been in the playoffs,” he added.
Manjrekar concluded by saying that, in a season where Chennai blew hot and cold, their harshest lesson was probably the mishandling of the Dhoni saga.
He bluntly told the franchise to move away from the emotional obsession of trying to fit Dhoni into the playing XI, arguing that the focus should instead remain on current performances, results and team balance, especially as the 44-year-old is no longer capable of contributing consistently in the same way because of age and lack of regular cricket.
“CSK have learned one harsh lesson — don’t get too emotional about your players. Be emotional about the reality, the performances, your current standing, the points table. Be focused on that. If you’re going to focus on Dhoni and try and fit him in, how is he going to contribute? You can see it’s been getting more and more difficult every year. He’s ageing. He doesn’t play any other cricket apart from this. He might do exactly what he did in the last couple of seasons. He’s not going to come in till late in the innings. He will bat lower down the order and maybe play in the final over. And that, I think, is more because the man is phenomenal rather than it being the best way to win a game,” he said.