IPL 2026: Mitchell McClenaghan says CSK must bring MS Dhoni in as an 'Impact Player'

Mitchell McClenaghan, MS Dhoni (Pic: File Pic)

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are all set to lock horns with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL 2026 match on Tuesday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Ahead of the match, former New Zealand cricketer Mitchell McClenaghan feels CSK should bring in MS Dhoni as an Impact Player to make the best use of his batting abilities.

"If MS Dhoni is fit, then CSK should bring him in as the Impact Player. If the team management feels they need a short burst of runs from him, especially when they are chasing, then bringing him in as the Impact Sub will allow them to make the best use of his batting abilities. Playing as an Impact Player will mean he may not have to do a lot of running. He can just come in, smack the ball into the stands and do his job of finishing in style," he said on Star Sports.

The former cricketer also stated that Dhoni's inclusion will strengthen CSK's lower middle order.

"His aggressive stroke-making ability will come in handy for Chennai when they are chasing big scores. I think that is a good way to get Dhoni back into the groove. His presence will really give a lot of strength to the lower middle order of CSK," said McClenaghan.

It will be interesting to see if Dhoni makes his appearance for the clash against the Knight Riders.

IPL 2026, Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders: Full Squads

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

Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Manish Pandey, Sunil Narine, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert (WK), Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sarthak Ranjan, Finn Allen (WK), Rachin Ravindra, Cameron Green, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kartik Tyagi, Blessing Muzarabani, Akash Deep, Prashant Solanki, Matheesha Pathirana, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Harshit Rana, Tejasvi Singh (WK), Daksh Kamra.

(With ANI Inputs)