The journey of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2026 has ended with a crushing defeat at the hands of Gujarat Titans (GT) on Thursday. The biggest shock for the fans this season was when 44-year-old experienced wicketkeeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni (MS Dhoni) could not take the field to play a single match due to a leg injury. Since Dhoni has not yet officially announced his retirement from IPL, the question in everyone’s mind is whether ‘Thala’ will make a comeback in IPL 2027? After the match against Gujarat, CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad spoke openly on this, but his statement has increased the suspense further.
"You and I, we both will know only next year…"
After the match, when captain Ruturaj Gaikwad was asked a question in the press conference about Dhoni playing in the next season, he said that no one has the exact answer yet and it will become clear only with time. Suspense continues: Gaikwad said, "You and I, both of us will know about this next year. It is too early to say anything about this right now."
Dhoni is missed: The captain acknowledged the importance of Dhoni and said, "We missed him a lot this entire season. He is a player who can change the course of the entire match in favor of his team just by coming in the last overs and staying at the crease. Nothing has been decided yet about the next season, but we are happy with the performance of the players we currently have."
It is clear from the management sources and Ruturaj’s words that CSK management wants Dhoni to play at least one more season, but the final decision will completely depend on Dhoni’s fitness and his wishes. Gaikwad said on the target of 230 runs: "we took a big risk"
Regarding the match results and the team’s strategy, Ruturaj Gaikwad openly expressed his opinion on the balance of the bowlers and the team:
"The pitch was a bit soft in the beginning and Gujarat’s openers made a very aggressive start. Our bowling in the powerplay was not as per expectations, due to which it became difficult to stop Shubman Gill and Sai Sudarshan. We had a chance to restrict them to less than 200 runs, but we missed it. When you are chasing a huge target like 230 runs, it is not easy against a bowling attack of that quality. We had taken a big risk to achieve the target as soon as possible, but this time luck was not on our side."
Players’ injuries spoiled CSK’s game. Ruturaj admitted that this season was like a roller-coaster ride for Chennai. After losing three consecutive matches, the team had definitely regained its momentum, but due to injuries to key players at the last moment, the entire combination of the team got spoiled. Balance disturbed: Gaikwad revealed that the sudden exit of Ramakrishna Ghosh and Craig Overton due to injury created a big crisis in front of the team management. Weak Combination: Due to the absence of these two players, CSK had to take the field with the lack of a key batsman or a key bowler in the last three matches, which had a direct impact on the team’s performance. Brief summary of the match: Super Kings flew in the storm of Titans. Gujarat Titans, batting first, scored a huge score of 229 runs after losing 4 wickets on the basis of a stormy partnership of 125 runs for the first wicket between Sai Sudarshan (84 runs, 53 balls) and captain Shubman Gill (64 runs, 37 balls). After this, Jos Buttler also scored unbeaten 57 runs in just 27 balls. In reply, the Chennai Super Kings team, which was chasing a huge target of 230 runs, fell apart like a pack of cards. In front of Gujarat’s lethal bowling attack, the entire CSK team collapsed for just 140 runs in 13.4 overs. On behalf of Gujarat, Mohammed Siraj, Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada bowled brilliantly and took 3 wickets each and showed Chennai the way out of the tournament.
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