MS Dhoni ruled out! RCB captain's massive call amid IPL 2026

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Rajat Patidar makes a surprising call amid the ongoing IPL 2026 season. Ahead of RCB’s next fixture, Patidar named the all-time bests in the history of the league. The players he picked, according to the sections, leave the cricket fans in disbelief. 

Patidar was asked to name the best finisher he has ever seen in the Indian Premier League. Taking no time, the RCB skipper picked AB de Villiers, a former South Africa and RCB batter, as the all-time best finisher in IPL.

RCB captain Rajat Patidar picks AB de Villiers over MS Dhoni

This pick might have hurt multiple Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fans, as their icon and former captain, MS Dhoni, was ignored by Patidar in his comments. Dhoni, in his prime, was considered an established finisher for Team India and CSK, as he confirmed wins for both teams on multiple occasions. 

Meanwhile, MS Dhoni is currently out of CSK’s playing combination because of an injury. The former international missed the franchise’s first match in the 2026 season and is expected to miss a few more matches as well. As per current updates, the 44-year-old is recovering from a calf strain suffered during training and is expected to miss the first two weeks of IPL 2026. He is currently undergoing rehabilitation.

Read More: Major injury update on Dewald Brevis arrives ahead of CSK vs PBKS IPL 2026 match

Why was MS Dhoni called a finisher?

The ‘captain cool’s one of the best highlights of his international career was when he smashed a maximum against the Sri Lanka cricket team in the final of the 2011 ICC ODI World Cup. Dhoni, then the captain of India, promoted himself in the batting order to compose the run chase and finished the business in style by hitting a six. Team India lifted the title after 28 years.

Another MS Dhoni moment came for the Men in Blue during the 2013 Tri-series Final vs Sri Lanka. In the decisive match of the tournament, the target set by Sri Lanka was only 202, an easy target on paper. The match was spiced up at the Port of Spain when India lost multiple wickets.

The run chase dragged until the very last over of the contest, reflecting the toe-to-toe competition between these two teams. Anchored by Rohit Sharma, India remained in the contest. Later, he got support from Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, and MS Dhoni. In the last over, MS Dhoni struck 16 runs off the last three balls of the match to seal the match for India.

Rajat Patidar makes a few other surprising picks as well

Apart from the all-time best IPL finisher picking, Rajat Patidar has made multiple other surprising calls as well. According to him, not his RCB teammate and former captain Virat Kohli, but Rohit Sharma is the best IPL captain ever. Patidar’s choice makes sense as Rohit guided the Mumbai Indians in 5 title-winning moments.

Rajat voted for Virat when he was asked to name the best batter in IPL, while he mentioned Faf Du Plessis as the best fielder ever in the league.