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IPL 2026: Speculations are rife over when will MS Dhoni play his first game of IPL 2026. So when will it eventually happen? At the outset, it was informed that he will play his first game of the season after a fortnight. Now, it has already been more than a month and still he is yet to feature for the yellow army this season. 

It was confirmed that Dhoni has completely recovered ahead of the CSK versus Gujarat clash, but that did not happen. Now, former India star R. Ashwin has predicted Dhoni's return. As per Ashwin, Dhoni will play only when CSK is knocked out of the playoff race. Ashwin reckoned CSK will not risk Dhoni now as they are still in contention for a spot in the final four. 

‘CSK gets out of the tournament, then MS Dhoni might play’

“If CSK gets out of the tournament, then MS Dhoni might play. CSK are still in the tournament, so why will they take the risk now? I still feel that CSK have a chance to qualify for the playoffs. But yeah, it is difficult. The way CSK have played in the last five matches, it has given them a little confidence. CSK’s bowling is firing, if their batting fires, they can put together three wins on the bounce,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

According to him, CSK’s performance in the last five games has slightly boosted their confidence. Their bowling unit is doing well, and if the batting clicks too, they can easily string together three consecutive wins.

He also pointed out that CSK must win their upcoming match to stay in contention. A victory against MI could push them back into the mid-table mix. With most of their remaining matches expected to be played on good batting surfaces, and Ruturaj returning to form, Ashwin feels winning four out of the last six games is still achievable.