MS Dhoni leaves Jharkhand CM awestruck

MS Dhoni with Jharkhand CM [Source: @HemantSorenJMM/x]MS Dhoni met Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in Ranchi on Thursday, January 29. The Jharkhand politician even shared pictures of his interaction with the former Indian captain and the legendary CSK cricketer. It is worth noting that MS Dhoni commenced his training and preparation for the IPL 2026 season last week. The 44-year-old was spotted padding up at the nets in Jharkhand as the cricketer extends his glittering IPL career by another season. Jharkhand CM “suddenly” meets MS Dhoni On Thursday, January 29, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren surprisingly interacted with India’s cricketing legend Dhoni. Sharing pictures of their friendly interaction on social media, the CM even expressed his surprise over their sudden and seemingly-unexpected meeting. In the caption, Hemant Soren wrote “I suddenly met MS Dhoni.”Hemant Soren @HemantSorenJMM माही से अचानक मिलना हुआ... Jan 29, 2026, 10:35 PM The surprise meeting between the two distinct personalities left some fans wondering if Dhoni was considering to join politics. However, that idea remains an unlikely possibility given Dhoni’s famously private nature and his long-standing preference to stay away from the limelight.Dhoni starts preparation for IPL 2026 Last week, Dhoni commended his preparations for the upcoming IPL 2026 season. The legendary CSK cricketer was spotted padding up at the nets in Jharkhand, in a viral social media video shared by the JSCA. In a short video, the 44-year-old was even seen interacting with former national teammate and ex-Jharkhand cricketer Saurabh Tiwary before heading into the nets. The video sparked much excitement from a legion of cricket fans, especially from the CSK contingent eagerly awaiting the IPL 2026 season in a couple of months’ time. Prior to the IPL 2026 auction last year, the five-time IPL winning skipper was retained by the CSK franchise alongside captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, all-rounder Shivam Dube and hard-hitting South African Dewald Brevis. The franchise also made several new additions to its squad on the day of the bidding event. CSK squad for IPL 2026: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, MS Dhoni (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Urvil Patel (wk), Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Ramkrishna Ghosh, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh, Akeal Hosein, Prashant Veer, Kartik Sharma, Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar and Zak Foulkes Dhoni's IPL career MSD, a veteran of 405 T20 matches, has played 302 of them in IPL and CLT20, including 272 for the CSK franchise since his tournament debut back in 2008. The 44-year-old has aggregated 5,439 runs so far in IPL at a prolific batting average of 38.30. The cricketer holds a staggering strike rate of 137.45, and has plundered 24 half-centuries. However, Dhoni listed the last of those half-centuries nearly four years ago back during the IPL 2022 season. Nonetheless, the IPL 2026 season is set to be played between March 26 and May 31 as per a tentative schedule. The upcoming edition will also mark the largest IPL season in terms of number of matches, with as many as 84 matches lined up as per a BCCI update.