MS Dhoni Reveals What Has Made RCB Better Than CSK

Chennai Super Kings icon MS Dhoni has acknowledged Royal Challengers Bengaluru's impressive rise in Indian Premier League, with the franchise enjoying consecutive successful seasons. Reflecting on the contrasting fortunes of RCB and CSK, Dhoni admitted that there is little doubt that the defending champions have been performing better in recent times.

The former CSK captain also expressed optimism about his team's prospects for IPL 2027, hoping Chennai can deliver a stronger campaign next season. Dhoni made these remarks while attending a healthcare event in Bengaluru.

Dhoni did not feature in IPL 2026 because of fitness concerns, leaving fans eager to know what lies ahead for the veteran cricketer and his future with CSK.

'How good you are on paper hardly matters'

MS Dhoni said, "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. 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."

"That is how life is. You have good times, you have bad times, but you know how to come out of it, what things you want to work on as a team, those are crucial things. Because you know, when we are winning, we knew that there will come a point when we will start losing, and the real test of character is when you're not doing well. So, RCB have consistently performed in the last couple of years, and we have not done that in the last couple of years," he added.

Dhoni said he hopes CSK can avoid injury setbacks in the upcoming season, allowing the available players to remain fit and feature consistently throughout IPL 2027.

"It makes life slightly easy, when people understand their role and responsibility. So we hope for another close one so that, you know, next time when we come over here (in Bengaluru for a clash against RCB), we can say that, okay, you know, 2027, we had another close game which was a lot of fun for the spectators," he said.

"Because at the end of the day, we are entertainers, you know, we come over here and entertain. And another reason why we as a batsman, why we all the batsmen love Bangalore is, you know, the ball travels over. You know, this is one venue if you hit the ball, you know, it goes for a six. Even if you are strong, you mistime a ball, there are chances it may go for a six."

"I feel batsmen, they love it. And bowlers, they somehow, they are under the pump; they are under pressure, but they also, you know, in a way they accept that, okay, this is one venue where, you know, if you do decently well, you are regarded as a good bowler. So they turn the heat up on the batsmen, say, you know, we are expecting - you are expected to hit us. So it is a very nice venue overall, you know, high-scoring but a lot of fun," he signed off.