India, March 22 -- Chennai Super Kings made two defining calls ahead of IPL 2026, decisions that signalled not just a shift away from their long-standing experience-first philosophy, but a conscious move beyond nostalgia. Both were necessary. After a fifth-place finish in 2024 and a disastrous last-place campaign in 2025, where Chennai managed just four wins in 14 matches, criticism around their ideology had grown louder than ever. And both decisions pointed to one clear reality: Chennai are finally preparing for life beyond MS Dhoni.

Yet, with Dhoni still in the squad, the biggest question lingers: What exactly is his role in IPL 2026, and does he even make the first XI?

Dhoni, now 44, was never going to be around forever, a reality Ch...