MS Dhoni IPL stats tell the story of the league’s most-capped player and its most successful captain. Across 278 matches between 2008 and 2025, Dhoni scored 5,439 runs at an average of 38.30 and a strike rate of 137.45, almost entirely in the colours of Chennai Super Kings, with a two-season stint at Rising Pune Supergiant when CSK were suspended. A record 100 not-outs underline what he was: the IPL’s definitive finisher.
Those numbers sit alongside five IPL titles as captain — 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023 — a record he shares with Rohit Sharma. After handing the CSK captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad in 2024, Dhoni reinvented himself as a late-order hitter, striking at 220.55 in 2024. A difficult 2025 (196 runs, a last-place finish, and a mid-season return as stand-in captain) was followed by a full season on the sidelines in 2026 through injury, leaving his IPL 2027 status unconfirmed. This page brings together his complete IPL record: season-by-season numbers, career statistics, auction and retention price history, major records, and what is officially confirmed about 2027.
MS Dhoni IPL Stats Overview
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Mahendra Singh Dhoni |
| IPL Debut | 19 April 2008, Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab |
| Role | Wicketkeeper-batter |
| Batting Style | Right-hand bat |
| Current IPL Team | Chennai Super Kings |
| IPL Matches | 278 |
| IPL Runs | 5,439 |
| Highest Score | 84* vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, 2019 |
| IPL 2027 Team | Not officially confirmed |
| IPL 2027 Price | Not officially confirmed |
Who Is MS Dhoni?
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, born 7 July 1981 in Ranchi, is a former India captain and wicketkeeper-batter who led India to the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy — the only captain to win all three ICC white-ball titles. He retired from international cricket in August 2020 and has since played only in the IPL.
In the IPL, Dhoni is synonymous with Chennai Super Kings. Bought as the most expensive player of the inaugural 2008 auction, he captained CSK from the first season, building the franchise into the league’s most consistent side: five titles and ten finals under his leadership. His batting method in the IPL was built for finishing — arriving late, staying unbeaten, and closing chases — which is why his average (38.30) stayed high even as his role shrank, and why he holds the league records for not-outs and wicketkeeping dismissals. He was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame in 2025.
MS Dhoni IPL Teams
| IPL Season | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2008–2015 | Chennai Super Kings | Played every season; captain |
| 2016–2017 | Rising Pune Supergiant | Played; captain in 2016 |
| 2018–2023 | Chennai Super Kings | Played every season; captain |
| 2024 | Chennai Super Kings | Played; handed captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad |
| 2025 | Chennai Super Kings | Played; interim captain after Gaikwad’s injury |
| 2026 | Chennai Super Kings | Retained; missed the season through injury, did not play |
| 2027 | Not officially confirmed | Retention list awaited |
Dhoni has effectively had one IPL home. The only break came in 2016 and 2017, when CSK’s two-year suspension moved him to Rising Pune Supergiant — he captained the side in 2016 before Steve Smith took over in 2017. He returned to Chennai in 2018 and immediately delivered another title. Ahead of the 2024 season he passed the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad, then took it back on an interim basis midway through 2025 when Gaikwad was ruled out injured. A calf strain before IPL 2026, followed by a thumb injury, kept him out of the entire 2026 campaign — the first full IPL season of his career without an appearance.
MS Dhoni IPL 2024 Stats
| Statistic | IPL 2024 |
|---|---|
| Matches | 14 |
| Runs | 161 |
| Highest Score | 37* |
| Average | 53.67 |
| Strike Rate | 220.55 |
| 50s | 0 |
| 100s | 0 |
| Fours | 14 |
| Sixes | 13 |
Dhoni’s 2024 was a masterclass in the modern finisher’s role. Batting almost exclusively in the last few overs, he faced very few balls but scored at 220.55 — the highest strike rate of any IPL season in his career. The 161 runs came in short, violent cameos rather than long innings, and his average of 53.67 reflects how often he finished unbeaten. It was also his first season not captaining CSK, with Ruturaj Gaikwad taking charge. Chennai missed the playoffs, finishing fifth, but Dhoni’s hitting at the death remained box office.
MS Dhoni IPL 2025 Stats
| Statistic | IPL 2025 |
|---|---|
| Matches | 14 |
| Innings | 13 |
| Not Outs | 5 |
| Runs | 196 |
| Highest Score | 30* |
| Average | 24.50 |
| Strike Rate | 135.17 |
| 50s | 0 |
| 100s | 0 |
| Fours | 12 |
| Sixes | 12 |
| Catches / Stumpings | 6 / 5 |
The 2025 season was the toughest of Dhoni’s IPL career. His 196 runs came at a strike rate of 135.17 — respectable for most players, but a clear step down from his 2024 explosiveness — and he never passed 30. CSK lost Gaikwad to injury after five matches, and Dhoni resumed the captaincy for the remaining nine games, winning three of them. It was not enough: Chennai finished tenth, last on the table, with four wins from fourteen — their worst season ever. Behind the stumps he remained sharp, with six catches and five stumpings, but questions about his batting position and pace of scoring followed him all season.
MS Dhoni IPL 2026 Stats
| Statistic | IPL 2026 |
|---|---|
| Matches | 0 |
| Did not play — ruled out before the season with a calf strain and later a thumb injury | |
Dhoni did not appear in a single match in IPL 2026, the first time in his career he sat out a full campaign. A calf strain suffered just before the season, followed by a thumb injury, kept him out throughout, though he remained with the squad. CSK finished eighth with six wins from fourteen. His career totals therefore stand exactly where they were at the end of 2025.
MS Dhoni IPL 2027 Stats
IPL 2027 statistics are not available yet because the season has not started.
What is confirmed about the road to 2027: the IPL 2027 auction will be a mini auction held in Goa in December 2026 — the second week of December is the reported window, though the BCCI has not formally locked the exact date. Franchises are reportedly required to submit their retention and release lists by around 15 November 2026, but that deadline has not been officially confirmed by the IPL either. The 2027 season itself is expected to begin toward the end of March 2027, with exact dates still to be announced. You can follow the build-up through our IPL 2027 auction date, venue and time guide, the mini auction vs mega auction explainer, and the IPL 2027 retention deadline, rules and purse page.
MS Dhoni IPL 2027 Team and Price
MS Dhoni’s IPL 2027 team is not officially confirmed. Chennai Super Kings have not announced their retention list, and Dhoni himself has not confirmed whether he will play in 2027. For context, CSK retained him ahead of the 2025 mega auction for ₹4 crore under the revived uncapped-player rule (available to Indian players retired from internationals for five-plus years), a sharp drop from the ₹12 crore retention of the 2022–24 cycle. Whether that arrangement continues into 2027 will only be known when the retention lists are published.
His IPL 2027 price is not officially confirmed. Any 2027 figure will be known only when CSK announce their retention list.
MS Dhoni IPL Career Batting Stats
| Statistic | IPL Career |
|---|---|
| Matches | 278 |
| Innings | 242 |
| Not Outs | 100 |
| Runs | 5,439 |
| Highest Score | 84* |
| Batting Average | 38.30 |
| Strike Rate | 137.45 |
| 50s | 24 |
| 100s | 0 |
| Fours | 375 |
| Sixes | 264 |
Dhoni never bowled in the IPL — there is no meaningful bowling record to show, so no bowling table is included. His career numbers are those of a specialist finisher: the average is inflated by a record 100 not-outs, the strike rate of 137.45 was built in the toughest overs to bat, and 264 sixes place him among the league’s great power-hitters despite rarely batting in the top order.
MS Dhoni IPL Stats by Year
| Season | Team | Mat | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 50s | 100s | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | CSK | 16 | 414 | 65 | 41.40 | 133.54 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 15 |
| 2009 | CSK | 14 | 332 | 58* | 41.50 | 127.20 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 9 |
| 2010 | CSK | 13 | 287 | 66* | 31.88 | 136.66 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 8 |
| 2011 | CSK | 16 | 392 | 70* | 43.55 | 158.70 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 23 |
| 2012 | CSK | 19 | 358 | 51* | 29.83 | 128.77 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 9 |
| 2013 | CSK | 18 | 461 | 67* | 41.90 | 162.89 | 4 | 0 | 32 | 25 |
| 2014 | CSK | 16 | 371 | 57* | 74.20 | 148.40 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 20 |
| 2015 | CSK | 17 | 372 | 53 | 31.00 | 121.96 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 17 |
| 2016 | RPS | 14 | 284 | 64* | 40.57 | 135.23 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 14 |
| 2017 | RPS | 16 | 290 | 61* | 26.36 | 116.00 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 16 |
| 2018 | CSK | 16 | 455 | 79* | 75.83 | 150.66 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 30 |
| 2019 | CSK | 15 | 416 | 84* | 83.20 | 134.62 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 23 |
| 2020 | CSK | 14 | 200 | 47* | 25.00 | 116.27 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 7 |
| 2021 | CSK | 16 | 114 | 18* | 16.28 | 106.54 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 |
| 2022 | CSK | 14 | 232 | 50* | 33.14 | 123.40 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 10 |
| 2023 | CSK | 16 | 104 | 32* | 26.00 | 182.46 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| 2024 | CSK | 14 | 161 | 37* | 53.67 | 220.55 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 13 |
| 2025 | CSK | 14 | 196 | 30* | 24.50 | 135.17 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| 2026 | CSK | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Season figures sum to the career totals above (278 matches, 5,439 runs, 24 fifties). The 2026 row reflects a season missed entirely through injury.
MS Dhoni IPL Highest Score
Dhoni’s highest IPL score is 84 not out, made for Chennai Super Kings against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on 21 April 2019. Chasing 162, CSK had collapsed to 28 for 4 before Dhoni walked in and produced 84 off 48 balls, with five fours and seven sixes at a strike rate of 175.
The finish is part of IPL folklore: 26 needed off the final over, Dhoni took 24 off the first five balls from Umesh Yadav, then missed the last delivery with two needed — Shardul Thakur was run out attempting the bye that would have forced a Super Over, and CSK lost by one run. It remains his career best across 278 matches, sixteen short of the hundred that never came.
MS Dhoni IPL Batting Records
A few numbers define Dhoni’s batting legacy in the league. His 278 appearances are the most by any player in IPL history. His 100 not-outs are also a league record — the statistical signature of a finisher. Behind the stumps, his 158 catches and 47 stumpings give him 205 dismissals, the most by any wicketkeeper in the IPL, and he was the first wicketkeeper to pass 5,000 IPL runs.
With the bat, the standout marks are the 84* against RCB in 2019, the 264 sixes, and 24 half-centuries without a single hundred — the most runs (5,439) by any player never to score an IPL century. His 2024 strike rate of 220.55 stands as his most destructive season, while 2018 (455 runs) and 2019 (416 runs) were his heaviest run-scoring campaigns.
MS Dhoni IPL Auction Price History
| IPL Season | Team | Price | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Chennai Super Kings | $1.5 million (approx. ₹6 crore) | Auction purchase — most expensive player of the inaugural auction (base price $400,000) |
| 2009–2010 | Chennai Super Kings | ₹6 crore per season | Retention (existing contract) |
| 2011–2013 | Chennai Super Kings | ₹8.28 crore per season | Retention |
| 2014–2015 | Chennai Super Kings | ₹12.5 crore per season | Retention |
| 2016–2017 | Rising Pune Supergiant | ₹12.5 crore per season | Draft — first pick |
| 2018–2021 | Chennai Super Kings | ₹15 crore per season | Retention |
| 2022–2024 | Chennai Super Kings | ₹12 crore per season | Retention |
| 2025–2026 | Chennai Super Kings | ₹4 crore per season | Retention — uncapped player rule |
| 2027 | — | Not officially confirmed | — |
The two ends of this table tell the story: the $1.5 million headline buy of 2008, when every franchise wanted the T20 World Cup-winning captain, and the ₹4 crore uncapped retention of 2025, made possible by the IPL’s revived rule treating long-retired internationals as uncapped players. Between them, Dhoni was retained at the top of CSK’s list through every retention cycle — ₹15 crore a season from 2018 to 2021, then ₹12 crore from 2022 to 2024.
MS Dhoni IPL Records and Achievements
- Five IPL titles as captain (2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, 2023) — joint-most by any captain, alongside Rohit Sharma
- Ten IPL finals as captain, the most by any leader in the league’s history
- Most appearances in IPL history — 278 matches
- Most not-outs in IPL history — 100
- Most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in IPL history — 205 (158 catches, 47 stumpings)
- First wicketkeeper to score 5,000 IPL runs
- Two Champions League T20 titles as CSK captain (2010, 2014)
- Most expensive player of the inaugural IPL auction, 2008 ($1.5 million)
- Inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame in 2025
MS Dhoni’s IPL Performance Analysis
Dhoni’s IPL career falls into three clear phases. From 2008 to 2015 he was a genuine middle-order batter and captain, regularly passing 350 runs a season and peaking with 461 runs at a strike rate of 162.89 in 2013. The 2016–17 Pune interlude was leaner, but his return to Chennai in 2018 produced a remarkable late-career peak: 455 runs at 75.83 in 2018 and 416 at 83.20 in 2019, both title-winning campaigns built on his finishing.
From 2020 the role changed. Knee trouble and age pushed him down the order into a pure finisher’s slot, and the run volumes fell — 200 runs in 2020, just 114 in 2021, 104 in the 2023 title season. But the strike rates told a different story: 182.46 in 2023 and a career-best 220.55 in 2024 showed he could still decide matches in ten-ball bursts. The 2025 season broke the pattern: more responsibility as interim captain, longer stays at the crease, and a strike rate of only 135.17 across 196 runs — the first season where neither the volume nor the impact was there. Missing all of 2026 through injury means his career numbers now rest entirely on the 2008–2025 body of work, and any 2027 return would be about presence and finishing rather than rebuilding an innings.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many runs has MS Dhoni scored in the IPL?
5,439 runs in 278 matches, at an average of 38.30 and a strike rate of 137.45, with 24 half-centuries and a highest score of 84*.
What is MS Dhoni’s highest score in the IPL?
84 not out off 48 balls for Chennai Super Kings against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Bengaluru on 21 April 2019. CSK lost the match by one run.
How many IPL titles has MS Dhoni won as captain?
Five — in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023, all with Chennai Super Kings. That is the joint-most by any captain in IPL history.
Which IPL team does MS Dhoni play for?
Chennai Super Kings, who he has represented in every IPL season from 2008 to 2026 except 2016–17 (Rising Pune Supergiant, during CSK’s suspension). His 2027 team is not officially confirmed.
What is MS Dhoni’s IPL 2027 price?
Not officially confirmed. His 2025–26 retention was ₹4 crore as an uncapped player; any 2027 figure will be known only when CSK announce their retention list.
Did MS Dhoni play in IPL 2026?
No. A calf strain before the season, followed by a thumb injury, kept him out of all fourteen of CSK’s matches — the first full IPL season of his career without an appearance.
When did MS Dhoni make his IPL debut?
19 April 2008, for Chennai Super Kings against Kings XI Punjab — weeks after CSK bought him for $1.5 million, the highest price of the inaugural auction.
What is MS Dhoni’s IPL strike rate?
137.45 across his career, with a career-best season strike rate of 220.55 in 2024.
Sources and Data Notes
Career and season statistics are cross-checked across the official IPL website, MS Dhoni’s ESPNcricinfo profile, and established statistical databases. Season figures for 2024–2026 and retention/auction details are verified against contemporary reporting from ESPNcricinfo, Wisden, and the sports press; CSK’s 2025 uncapped retention (₹4 crore) and the 2008 auction price ($1.5 million) are confirmed by multiple outlets. IPL 2027 auction and retention-date information reflects reports available as of early October 2026 and is labelled accordingly where not officially confirmed.
Statistics and player information are checked against available reliable sources and may be updated as new IPL matches, transfers, or official announcements are confirmed.
Statistics updated through: 6 October 2026
