MS Dhoni to not play IPL next season? CSK coach Stephen Fleming breaks silence with three-word response

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) currently languish at the bottom of the IPL points table, having accumulated just six points from 12 matches. The MS Dhoni-led side have only been able to record three victories in the ongoing season so far while losing on nine occasions.

CSK is already out of the playoff race

Though the Chennai-based franchise is already out of the playoff race, things can still go from bad to worse for them as there are chances that Dhoni won't feature in the next season of the tournament.

With speculations rising on the matter, CSK's head coach Stepehn Fleming was asked about the 43-year-old 's availability for the upcoming season ahead of the side's encounter against the Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday, May 19 at the Arun Jaitley stadium in Delhi.

However, Fleming didn't give a concrete answer to the question and simply replied with, "I don't know." Though Dhoni was retained by the franchise for a fee of INR 4 crore ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction and was also given a three-year contract, it is not certain if the former India skipper will honour it.

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CSK have suffered from multiple injuries throughout IPL 2025 and thus, have had to sign replacements for the same. Young guns like 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre, 22-year-old Dewald Brevis and 26-year-old Urvil Patel were all added to the squad as replacements and have turned out to impress in the few matches that they have played so far.

Fleming further stated that though he is a fan of experienced players, he wants to have young players in the team as well..

"They have certainly had an impact which is positive from a season that has been a challenge. But we realised early on that we were off the pace. So to be able to introduce these players, they are definitely in line for the future as we regenerate the team and redevelop or reconfirm our philosophy of how we want to play," Fleming said at the pre-match press conference.

“My point has always been a mixture of youth and experience. I am a fan of experience, experience wins tournaments. But the youth and talent in this country is something you can't ignore,” he added.

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CSK emerged victorious in their previous match of the season where they faced the Kolkata Knight Riders. Their main objective now will be to end their campaign on a positive note and thus, will be looking for victories in their upcoming matches against the Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans which is set to be played on May 25 at the Narendra Modi stadium.