3 min readApr 3, 2026 07:07 PM IST
Veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin made a big statement on his former Indian Premier League franchise, saying in the Chennai Super Kings setup, star player and former India captain MS Dhoni may not be as involved as he once was.
Ahead of their first home game of the IPL 2026 against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at Chepauk, Dhoni’s availability is still uncertain. The five-time champions were dealt a huge blow when their ex-captain was ruled out for two weeks following a calf strain.
Ashwin said Dhoni might not be as involved, wanting current captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and head coach Stephen Fleming to run the show themselves in order to prepare the franchise for a transition once he retires from the league.
“None of us can predict from the outside that what is the relation between Gaikwad, Fleming and Dhoni. I do know that Fleming and Gaikwad sit and have a lot of discussions. Maybe Dhoni is telling them to run the show and learn as they have to take it forward. None of us know what Dhoni’s plan is, what he will do after his playing career,” said Ashwin on his YouTube show ‘Ash ki Baat’.
Ashwin compared this situation with the Mumbai Indians of 2013, where the then skipper, Ricky Ponting, had stepped down from the captaincy and dropped himself midway during the event before the captaincy baton was passed to Rohit Sharma.
“So this is a situation that I would compare to MI. At one point, they took Ricky Ponting. The same year, he thought it was not happening, and maybe he recommended Rohit to captain. That communication and collective wisdom were there. No one can replace Dhoni’s experience. You accept it or not, CSK’s 99% success is because of Dhoni. The result is in front. They should keep him together, and if they use him well and make decisions together, things will become easy,” said Ashwin.
Unlike before, CSK have gone with a young squad for this season that has the likes of Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Ayush Mhatre and Urvil Patel. Ashwin said the baggage of five trophies should not come in the way of new guys when they take over the reins.
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“The baggage of five trophies and legacy should not come on the new guys. It is not upon them. We need to allow these new guys to make mistakes. The team’s legacy is not their problem. They cannot carry that baggage. They need to be allowed to enjoy the game. When does it happen in sports that there cannot be bad seasons? Even in last five years they have won two titles right? Why should these new guys carry the weight of somebody else’s expectation? Many are young and inexperienced,” he said.
