MS Dhoni during IPL 2026 for CSK (Source: AFP Photos)
On Thursday, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) left the world in shock by trading Nathan Ellis and Khaleel Ahmed to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for Liam Livingstone and Jack Edwards.
Within 24 hours, it has now been confirmed that MS Dhoni, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Zaheer Khan, CSK’s newly-formed think tank, were all involved in the blockbuster four-player IPL trade deal. The development has been confirmed by the Times of India (TOI).
CSK CEO Confirms MS Dhoni, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Zaheer Khan's Link
CSK CEO Kashinath Viswanathan, commonly known as Kashi Viswanathan, confirmed that all three – Dhoni, Gaikwad and head coach Zaheer – had discussed whether they should make moves for Livingstone and Edwards before mutually agreeing to finalise it.
"The cricket management takes all decisions at CSK. We have the think tank of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Zaheer Khan and MS Dhoni. They have assessed what is best for CSK and taken the decision accordingly," Viswanathan told TOI.
Furthermore, Viswanathan highlighted the fact that Liam Livingstone did not get many opportunities last year at SRH, despite having a whopping INR 13 crore deal. They will make sure he gets enough chances to shine during IPL 2027.
"He (Livingstone) hardly got enough opportunities last year. They would have considered that as well as everything else before taking the call," Viswanathan added.
Livingstone played two matches for SRH in IPL 2026. There, he had the scores of 14 and 1.
IPL 2026 Trade Window So Far
Several trades have happened in the IPL trade windows this year. It has now been extended to November 17.
Here are the deals so far:
- Rishabh Pant: Lucknow Super Giants to Delhi Capitals - INR 15 crore
- Kuldeep Yadav: Delhi Capitals to Lucknow Super Giants - INR 13.50 crore
- T. Natarajan: Delhi Capitals to Sunrisers Hyderabad - INR 5 crore
- Zeeshan Ansari: Sunrisers Hyderabad to Delhi Capitals - INR 40 lakh
- Liam Livingstone: Sunrisers Hyderabad to Chennai Super Kings - INR 6 crore
- Khaleel Ahmed: Chennai Super Kings to Sunrisers Hyderabad - INR 4.8 crore
- Jack Edwards: Sunrisers Hyderabad to Chennai Super Kings - INR 3 crore
- Nathan Ellis: Chennai Super Kings to Sunrisers Hyderabad - INR 2 crore
