CSK Start IPL 2026 Prep – Good news for Yellow Army fans – the Chennai Super Kings have quietly begun their build-up for the next IPL season, and the two most important names are already on the ground.
MS Dhoni reached Chennai late on February 28 and was at the team’s training facility the very next morning. At 44, he still pulls crowds wherever he goes. A few fans were waiting outside, just hoping to see him walk in or maybe catch him practicing that famous finishing style.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, who continues as captain, joined him early too. The pair spent a long time in the nets together – something that always feels reassuring after last season’s tough campaign where CSK ended up finishing 10th.
The first phase is a 10-day camp mainly for the Indian players plus whoever from the overseas group can make it right away. Young faces like Ramakrishna Ghosh, Urvil Patel, and the two big uncapped buys – Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer – are already putting in serious work. Those two cost the team a combined ₹28.40 crore, so everyone is watching closely to see what they can do.
The plan looks clear: keep the experienced core (Dhoni, Ruturaj, Shivam Dube) while mixing in some very expensive young Indian talent and hoping it all clicks this time.
A few big names are still missing though:
- Shivam Dube
- Sanju Samson (the major off-season pickup)
- Jamie Overton
- Akeal Hosein
- Matt Henry
They’re all busy with the ongoing T20 World Cup and should start joining from next week onwards.
The full IPL 2026 schedule hasn’t come out yet – apparently election dates in a few states are holding things up again. Most people expect the tournament to get going towards the end of March.
For now the squad looks like this: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), MS Dhoni, Sanju Samson, Dewald Brevis, Ayush Mhatre, Urvil Patel, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Rahul Chahar (₹5.20 cr), Akeal Hosein, Matt Henry, Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Zakary Foulkes.
Lots of questions still floating around – how many games will Dhoni actually play? Can the two super-expensive youngsters handle the pressure? Will the new batting combination work?
But just having Thala back in the yellow kit and Ruturaj leading from the front has already changed the mood around the camp. One small step today, hopefully many big ones coming soon.
