Key Points
- Kartik Sharma was signed by CSK for Rs 14.20 crore at the IPL 2026 auction.
- It is not clear yet whether Dhoni will don the gloves this season.
- Sanju Samson is expected to be the first choice wicket-keeper-batter for CSK.
Chennai Super Kings' young wicket-keepers Urvil Patel and Kartik Sharma had the opportunity of their lifetime as they got to train under the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
CSK broke the bank to sign up 19-year-old Kartik for a whopping Rs 14.20 crore at the IPL 2026 auction, making him the joint most expensive uncapped player in IPL history.
The Rajasthan 'keeper-batter has been in blazing form with the bat in domestic cricket. He slammed 11 sixes in five matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 and showed his prowess in the Ranji Trophy as well with 16 sixes in five games.
Will Dhoni don the gloves in IPL 2026?
However, he could find it difficult to break into the CSK playing XI with either Dhoni or Sanju Samson expected to don the gloves.
Gujarat's glovesman Urvil is another explosive wicket-keeping option for CSK, who is also quite destructive with the bat.
In November last year, he had slammed a 31-ball century against Services in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy -- the third fastest T20 ton by an Indian batter. He has also hit a 28-ball hundred against Tripura -- the joint fastest T20 century by an Indian batter -- in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-2025.
Dhoni could be seen demonstrating key 'keeping techniques like the position of the gloves while gathering the ball and footwork while keeping against pace bowlers.
'MaSterclass of Wicket Keeping 101!' CSK captioned the Instagram video.
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