Former Indian batter Subramaniam Badrinath has asserted that the former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni will not play as an Impact Player if he continues his IPL playing career next edition.
For the unversed, Dhoni missed the entire IPL 2026 season due to a calf injury. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Badrinath reckoned that if given a chance, he would make Dhoni CSK’s Impact Player moving forward.
“He has personally told me that he won’t play as an Impact Player. He sees himself as a full-time keeper, and that means he has to be on the field for the full 20 overs. So he won’t play as an Impact Player, but I feel if he does, it’ll tactically benefit CSK. His body cannot withstand long durations, which even Fleming has said. He is only going to bat after the 16th over and keep wickets. When his participation is so less, he would be ideal as an Impact Player,” Badrinath said on his YouTube channel.
Further, Badrinath has expressed his disappointment with the CSK team management for their inability to use Impact Players properly in the just-concluded IPL 2026 season. Interestingly, Shivam Dube and Akeal Hosein were used as Impact Players during the season, which didn’t go down well with the former CSK batter.
“Shivam Dube bowling for India but not for CSK is not because of the Impact Player rule. It has to do with the CSK management and their lack of usage of Dube with the ball. Why are they using him as an Impact Player? The rule cannot be blamed,” he added.
“Akeal Hosein should be a certainty in the playing 11. But CSK keeps him as an Impact Player, and then when they bat poorly, they end up using an extra batter as an Impact Player. Because of this, Akeal Hosein ends up not playing. That’s just foolishness. You can’t blame the rule for your own foolishness,” he concluded.
