The MS Dhoni Magic! Players Who Revived Their Sinking IPL Career Under CSK Captain

Players whose career was revived by MSD [Source: @CricCrazyJohns/x.com]

Talk all you want about MS Dhoni's tactical captaincy this season, but there is no denying that under his guidance and mentorship, there have been numerous players who have revived their slumping IPL career. Time and again, he has shown his leadership skills and it has instilled confidence in players who looked under-par prior to joining CSK.

The latest inductee is CSK's new signing, Dewald Brevis, who has been a revelation ever-since he came in as a replacement player. With that, here are 5 such players who got better under Thala Dhoni's guidance.

1) Dewald Brevis

The 'Baby AB', Dewald Brevis played for Mumbai Indians but his IPL career was going nowhere as the team released him after a couple of underwhelming seasons. However, an injury to Gurjanpneet Singh in the middle of IPL 2025 paved way for his redemption arc.

Since his mid-season joining, Brevis has been exceptional and the stats tell the entire story.

(Brevis stats in IPL 2025)

As the stats suggests, he already has 207 runs with a strike rate of 175. In the game against GT, he was brilliant as he smacked 57 of 23 and turned the game on his head.

2) Shardul Thakur

Prior to joining CSK, Shardul Thakur's career was going nowhere around, but since playing under the leadership of MSD, his career took a 360 degree turn. 

(Shardul stats for CSK)

As the numbers state, he has taken 60 wickets for CSK in 57 matches and has helped them win multiple IPL titles.

3) Ajinkya Rahane

Prior to the 2023 season, Ajinkya Rahane was considered an average IPL player and his career was going downhill before MSD decided to sign him up. Since then, he has been a revelation in T20 cricket and his strike rate has also gone up.

(Rahane stats for CSK)

Rahane was given free hand by MSD to play an aggressive game of cricket without thinking about the consequences, a move which paved off well for the current KKR captain.

4) Robin Uthappa

Uthappa had big shoes to fill in as he came into the CSK setup as a long-term Suresh Raina replacement. The player himself stated that he found the perfect environment to succeed. His stats weren't the best, but Uthappa is a big-game player and he proved his worth in the IPL 2021 Qualifier and final.

In the Qualifier, he slammed 63 off 44 and in the finale he scored a quick-fire 31 off 15 and helped the team to win the league title.

5) Shivam Dube

Dube was a part of the RCB squad before joining CSK, but he had an underwhelming stint. This is when MSD stepped and roped in the all-rounder in their team. Since then, he helped them to win the league title in 2023 and the stats tell the story.

(Dube stats for CSK)

He already has nearly 1500 runs for CSK and was a key player for the title winning team in 2023 and MS Dhoni had a big role to play in it.

---

ALSO READ

Ayush Mhatre And? 3 Players Who Can Lead CSK To Title Win In IPL 2026

---