Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has suggested MS Dhoni should retire rather than play as an impact player. The commentator further added that this could be Dhoni's final year playing for the Chennai Super Kings.

Speaking before the start of the season, Aakash Chopra said that MS Dhoni should hand over the reins to the younger players and that it could finally be Dhoni's last season give the signing of Sanju Samson.

"You do not run the team from the dugout; it's not football. In any case, I feel this could be Dhoni's last season. Sanju Samson will eventually don the gloves; it could even happen at some stage during this season. But MS Dhoni cannot be the Impact Player. If he is playing as an Impact Player, I think it's time for him to hang up his boots," said Aakash Chopra on JioStar's 'IPL Today Live'.

Aakash also believed that, given the number of young players in the team, Dhoni may no longer be the "unofficial captain" of CSK and has taken a backseat. Dewald Brevis, Ayush Mhatre, and Urvil Patel added some six-hitting and bravery to CSK's lineup during a dismal season last year.

"There is a small analogy. If you want your baby to start walking, you need to hold their hand and teach them. If you keep holding on, they will never learn to run. From Dhoni's point of view, if somebody has been anointed as the next Captain, then he has to take a backseat, and I think he already has," he said.

"If you look at the auction and the way the team has been built, it is not the team MS Dhoni would have built if it were left entirely to him. This is Ruturaj Gaikwad's team," he added.

Chennai Super Kings full squad for IPL 2026: 

Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Jamie Overton, MS Dhoni, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Noor Ahmad, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Gopal, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, Urvil Patel, Sarfaraz Khan, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Zak Foulkes, Akeal Hosein, Rahul Chahar, Matt Henry.