Chennai, March 11 Chennai Super Kings (CSK) CEO Kasi Viswanathan said that veteran wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni is likely to play in all matches of the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), while also stating that the final decision on his playing role will be made by the team management.
The 19th edition of the IPL is set to begin on March 28, and all franchises have already begun their training camps to prepare for the lucrative event. Players who were part of the recently concluded T20 World Cup will soon join their respective franchises and start training for the tournament.
With CSK legend Dhoni set to appear in the IPL in 2026 for the Men in Yellow, there were concerns about the wicketkeeper-batsman participating in all the games, given his age. However, Kasi dismissed all such concerns and said, "He will play all the matches, according to me."
Asked what role he is likely to take up in the tournament, with another wicketkeeper-batsman Samson now in the team, he added, "I cannot say. That is a cricketing decision that will be made by the cricketing staff. Not by the administrative staff. So they will decide whether he is going to play as a batsman or as a wicketkeeper-batsman, or as an impact player."
The tournament's schedule is likely to be announced on Thursday, keeping in mind the upcoming elections in the country. Kasi confirmed that the five-time champions will play all their home matches in Chennai, saying, "We are supposed to play only in Tamil Nadu. So we are waiting for the schedule to be announced by the BCCI."
He expressed pride in the franchise's players Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube, who put up match-winning performances in Team India's T20 World Cup-winning campaign, and said, "We are very happy that India has won the World Cup, that too they've won it back-to-back. We are delighted because two of the CSK players, Sanju and Shivam Dube, have performed extremely well. It gives us a lot of confidence in the team doing well for CSK here also," he said.
When asked about the players' preparations in the camp, he said, "Practice is going on well, no problems so far."