MS Dhoni to return for IPL 2027? Chennai Super Kings' CEO spills the beans

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) CEO Kasi Viswanathan is hopeful that legendary wicketkeeper batter MS Dhoni will return to play Indian Premier League 2027. Dhoni didn’t feature in a single game for CSK during the IPL 2026 as he continued to battle through injuries.

Dhoni was ruled out of the first half of the season due to calf and hamstring injuries, and later, a thumb injury ruled him out of the final league fixtures as well. As a result, the former CSK skipper didn’t feature in a single game of the season for the first time in IPL history.

Despite Dhoni’s injury struggles, Viswanathan is hoping for his return in the next season to fulfil his promise of playing his last IPL match in Chennai.

"My understanding is that he will come back next season. We have not spoken to him about this, but we hope he will come back. We also hope he keeps his promise to the CSK fans that he will play his last IPL game in Chennai,” Kasi Viswanathan, CSK CEO, was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

Dhoni didn’t even travel with the team for their last league match against Gujarat Titans (GT), CSK’s batting coach Michael Hussey had confirmed ahead of the game. Meanwhile, Kasi Viswanathan also revealed that the franchise isn’t immediately looking to make radical changes to their support staff in the aftermath of their third successive season without a playoffs qualification.

No call taken on Stephen Fleming yet

"We have not taken a call on any cricketing matters. We will review at some stage," Viswanathan said.

CSK finished eighth on the IPL 2026 points table with six wins from 14 matches, having 12 points to their name. After a hat-trick of seasons without playoffs qualification, there has been massive criticism of their head coach, Stephen Fleming, who has held his position since 2009.

It remains to be seen if CSK decide to let go of the man who guided them to five IPL titles and 11 playoffs qualifications.