MS Dhoni has admitted that Royal Challengers Bengaluru have been the better IPL side for the last two years. Speaking at a healthcare event in Bengaluru on October 24, he said Chennai Super Kings have struggled over the same period.
The record backs him. RCB won back-to-back titles in 2025 and 2026 under Rajat Patidar, while CSK finished last and then eighth. Dhoni did not play a single game of IPL 2026 because of fitness issues.
Most fans will read his words as sportsmanship. Inside a dressing room, a line like this means something else: the moment a losing side stops pretending.
“And the last 2 years, we have struggled, and it is a fact. You know, there is no point shying away from the fact that RCB has done really, really well.”
MS Dhoni, healthcare event in Bengaluru, October 24, 2026
MS Dhoni lauds RCB for their consistency over the last two years👏
📸: IPL/CSK
#RCB https://t.co/oxJLDqu6pb
— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) October 25, 2026
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A side on a slide protects itself with comfortable lines: a few close games, bad luck with injuries. Those lines keep the dressing room calm. They also keep the same plans running for one more season, because nobody has said the plans are the problem.
Nothing changes until the senior voice admits the other side is simply doing it better. Dhoni said it in Bengaluru, RCB’s home city. That is not a gift to RCB. It tells CSK’s players, and new head coach Zaheer Khan, that nothing from the last two years is protected.
Dhoni’s Case: Margins, Not Quality
Dhoni did not say the gap was about talent. He said T20 punishes the side that is worse on the day, not the side that is worse on paper.
“I always felt you know, how good you are on paper hardly matters. How good you are on that particular day is something, which is the most important. And the shorter the format, the narrower is the margin between the best of teams.”
MS Dhoni, healthcare event in Bengaluru, October 24, 2026
| Team | IPL 2025 | IPL 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| RCB | Champions (beat Punjab Kings in final) | Champions (beat Gujarat Titans in final) |
| CSK | Last | Eighth |
RCB have also won four of the last five meetings between the sides. CSK have not reached the playoffs since their 2023 title.
Dhoni hopes the 2027 derby in Bengaluru is another close game. He also gave his read on why the Chinnaswamy is hard on bowlers.
“This is one venue where, you know, if you do decently well, you are regarded as a good bowler.”
MS Dhoni, healthcare event in Bengaluru, October 24, 2026
At the same event, Dhoni said he will take a fitness test and decide before December whether he is strong enough for one more season with CSK. That decision comes before the IPL 2027 auction in December.
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