Chennai Super Kings has been featuring MS Dhoni as the iconic face of their franchise for years; However, considering his age, Dhoni himself will now be keen to end his illustrious career. According to the latest reports, CSK are back in search of a wicketkeeper batsman ahead of the upcoming mini-auction.
5-time IPL champion Chennai Super Kings is still uncertain about MS Dhoni’s future.
Dhoni must have made up his mind to retire and the management needs to finalize their next wicketkeeper before the great plays his last match in the IPL.,
CSK team has gradually removed the captaincy from the hands of MS Dhoni and handed it over to its new captain Ruturaj Gaikwad.,
Ruturaj missed half of last season, leading MS Dhoni to step in as stand-in captainHowever, it has been confirmed that CSK have long-term plans to retain Gaikwad as the captain of the Men in Yellow.
CSK’s search for wicketkeeper batsman continues before IPL 2026
Chennai Super Kings has not only been the most successful franchise over the years, but has also been a powerhouse of young talent.
Even in the last season, which was their worst season in the history of the competition, the Super Kings led the way with the inclusion of many young and sporadic cricketers.
They got the new face of CSK in 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre from Mumbai, who is currently leading the India Under-19 team.
They also brought in players like Dewald Brewis, who dominated world cricket with his batting after having a stellar season with CSK.Other notable mentions also included Noor Ahmed and Urvil Patel.
However, despite everything they have, they are looking for a new wicketkeeper batsman who can replace MS Dhoni in the team, as suggested by Rohit Juglan through his YouTube channel.
MS Dhoni has such unique finishing skills that it seems a difficult task. “CSK is looking for a wicketkeeper batsman. They have been looking for such a player for the last 4 seasons,” Juglan said in his report.
The search is on as the IPL auction date has been set for December 15, which means CSK will have to intensify their search if they want to acquire a player through the pre-season trade window.
Is CSK sidelining Sanju Samson talks despite Royals’ eagerness to let go of their former skipper?
According to reports, CSK was the first and most desperate team in search of Sanju Samson since the rumors of Sanju Samson’s release from Rajasthan Royals camp spread on the internet.
Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson was seen sitting out for most of the season in IPL 2025 and was also demoted to the new batting position at number. 3 With the arrival of left-handed batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
After losing his position to the 14-year-old and a part of his captaincy to Riyan Parag, Samson had asked the franchise to release him as he wanted to explore his chances with other franchises in the competition.
Initially, CSK was the most eager team to sign Samson; However, perhaps due to their dip in form in the Asia Cup, they have started to think about exploring more options before drawing conclusions.
However, it remains to be mentioned that teams like Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians would also be keen to acquire a player of Samson’s caliber as they too are looking for a gloveman.
Urvil Patel and Devon Conway are backup wicketkeepers to MS Dhoni in CSK team
Apart from MS Dhoni, Chennai Super Kings currently have two other players who were included in the XI last season, and they are wicketkeepers by role.
New Zealand batsman Devon Conway and Indian youngster Urvil Patel are both substitute wicketkeepers.
Conway played with very limited success at the start of the season, after which he was dropped, while Urwill featured in a set of games during the final part of the IPL and gave CSK some quick starts at the top of the order.
Patel is a clean striker of the ball and holds the record for the fastest T20 century in the Indian domestic circle.
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