'No one can tell MS Dhoni to sit out': Ex-CSK star's bold claim on dressing room reality

Chennai Super Kings may have confirmed MS Dhoni’s availability for the entire 2026 Indian Premier League campaign, but the question of how—or even whether—the franchise can leave him out of the starting XI remains a live wire inside the dressing room, according to former India batter Subramaniam Badrinath.

CEO Kasi Viswanath has already stated that the 44-year-old wicket-keeper batter will be present for every match of the upcoming season, leaving head coach Stephen Fleming and the rest of the support staff to determine his exact role. Options on the table range from Dhoni keeping wickets to deploying him strictly as an impact substitute, a flexibility Viswanath insists will be decided “depending on the match situation.”

Yet Badrinath, who spent multiple seasons with CSK, believes the decision may already be made by the weight of Dhoni’s legacy. “I don’t know if it is an administrative decision where he (Viswanath) said that he (Dhoni) is ready to play all matches,” Badrinath said on his YouTube channel. “He said that he would support the cricketing decision and stop. Now, will Fleming go and tell Dhoni that you don’t play this match, we are dropping you? I don’t think Fleming has a chance at all.”

The former batter doubled down on the idea that the aura surrounding India’s two-time World Cup-winning captain makes a conventional selection conversation virtually impossible. “How will he go and tell Dhoni that you are dropped? I literally feel that it is not possible,” Badrinath added, stressing that even suggesting Dhoni be used as an impact player would cross an unspoken line inside the Super Kings environment.

Dhoni’s 2025 numbers—196 runs across 14 outings at an average of 24.50 and a strike rate of 135.17—were steady rather than spectacular, compiled largely during death-overs cameos. Those figures have done little to quell speculation about his optimal role, but Badrinath argues the statistics are secondary to the intangible authority Dhoni wields. “I don’t think any support staff in the world, be it even Fleming, can tell Dhoni you are an impact player, or you don’t play this match. There is no chance. We can take it that he is going to play all the matches.”

With the 2026 season on the horizon, Chennai Super Kings find themselves balancing reverence for a franchise icon against the cold calculus of T10-style match-ups and impact-player regulations. If Badrinath’s assessment is accurate, the balance may already be tilted: the only voice that truly matters in the Dhoni discussion could be Dhoni’s own.