“He will be coming back” - MS Dhoni reveals CSK batting order is sorted for IPL 2026

The Chennai Super Kings stand-in captain in IPL 2025, MS Dhoni, has confirmed the return of the captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad, for the upcoming IPL 2026 season, scheduled to be played from March to May next year.

Notably, Gaikwad missed the major part of the IPL 2025 season with an elbow injury. Later, Dhoni took over the captaincy role. Nevertheless, the five-time champions ended the season with the wooden spoon, bagging four wins from 14 games.

"We are slightly worried about our batting order. But I think our batting order is quite sorted out now. Rutu (Gaikwad) will be coming back. He got injured. But he will be coming back. So, we are quite sorted now," Dhoni said during an event.

Furthermore, Dhoni asserted that the franchise will make a few releases and additions to their depleted squad in the forthcoming mini-auction, scheduled to take place later this year in December. 

"I won't say we (CSK) slacked off (in IPL 2025). But there were certain holes that we needed to plug in. A small auction is coming in December. Some loopholes are there, and we will try to plug those in," he added.

It’s important to note that Gaikwad last played a professional game for CSK against PBKS in Mullanpur on April 8. Though he was expected to be a part of the County set-up for Yorkshire, he pulled out of it at the last moment due to personal reasons. That said, he will be next seen playing for the West Zone in the Duleep Trophy campaign.

Moreover, the CSK stand-in captain also admitted that the Chennai-based franchise had two below-par seasons, adding that it’s important for the team to identify the shortcomings and come up with a proper solution.

"Yes, the last couple of years have not been good for us. We have not been up to the mark. But what is important is for you to see the learnings. Yes, you had a bad season. But what went wrong? And that was the question for us last year also,” he stated.

"We were like, okay, there are some shortcomings. But first, we needed to exactly figure out what the shortcomings were and then look at solutions," he observed.

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