“Dhoni needs to bat at at least No. 7” - World T20 winner’s huge remark on CSK playing 11 for IPL 2026

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan urged the legendary MS Dhoni to bat at least at No. 7 for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2026 IPL season. The 44-year-old often walked into bat at No. 8 with only a handful of deliveries in CSK's tumultuous 2025 IPL season.

Dhoni struggled to pull off his customary big hits, finishing with a strike rate of only 135.17 in 14 outings as CSK were at the bottom of the points table. As a result, they released 10 players at the IPL 2026 retention deadline, along with trading Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran for Sanju Samson.

Addressing the moves and what CSK should look for at the IPL 2026 auction, Pathan said on his YouTube channel (0:30):

"They'll need a batter at No. 6. I would like to see Dhoni bat at No. 7. He needs to bat at atleast No. 7. He can't bat at No. 8 or 9. If he does, it's not beneficial for the team. With Dhoni at 7, you'll need an all-rounder at No. 8, who can bowl and bat. Ideally someone who can finish well is much better. So if you get a good finisher at No. 6, like Andre Russell, that's a job done. Then at No. 8, you could go for a bowling all-rounder."

CSK will enter the auction with a whopping ₹43.40 crore remaining and nine slots to fill.

Pathan also shared their potential XI for next season based on the retentions and releases, with a question mark over the spots still uncertain.

Sanju Samson, Ayush Mhatre, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, ?, MS Dhoni, ?, Noor Ahmad, Nathan Ellis, Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj/Mukesh Choudhary (Impact Sub)

Irfan Pathan points to LSG's lone spot to fill in playing 11 for IPL 2026

Irfan Pathan believes the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) should go all-out for a bona fide finisher cum all-rounder at No.7 in the IPL 2026 auction. The former left-hander believes the franchise has done well with the trade for Mohammed Shami and Arjun Tendulkar, given the frequent injuries to their pacers last season.

"They've plenty of fast-bowling resources with the trading in of Shami and Arjun Tendulkar, which is essential as this team has a lot of injury concerns. But they'll need a replacement for Miller and Bishnoi. They definitely need a good finisher at No. 7. Along with CSK, LSG will also go for Andre Russell. They could also go for Harasanga. With him, LSG looks decent," said Pathan (via the aforementioned source).

With their retained and released players list, Pathan concluded by naming their potential playing 11 and the positions that require filling as below:

Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, ?, Shahbaz Ahmed, Digvesh Rathi, Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan

Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran