Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif has backed Noor Ahmad to make a big impact if Ravindra Jadeja parts ways with the Chennai Super Kings. As per the reports, CSK is all set to trade the all-rounder duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran to the Rajasthan Royals for Sanju Samson.
Meanwhile, Ahmad was the second-highest wicket-taker in the previous season with 24 scalps in 14 games. The spinner from Afghanistan had bowled with an average of 17 and economy rate of 8.16 in IPL 2025.
The Chepauk pitch is known to assist the spinners, and Kaif reckons Ahmad can control the middle overs in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja.
Mohammad Kaif said on his YouTube Channel, “Since CSK have Noor Ahmad – he bowled quite well in IPL 2025 and took a lot of wickets – Super Kings might be thinking they have a good spinner in Noor even if Ravindra Jadeja is not there. If Noor had not been there, CSK would have fought for Jadeja a lot more. But they have Noor and he can control the middle overs well. So, this trade could go ahead mostly because CSK have Noor Ahmad.”
Kaif highlighted that the most important thing for CSK’s veteran MS Dhoni is the team’s success, and that doesn’t depend on one player.
“MS Dhoni backs any player to an extent. It’s team first. If we see that way, even Yashasvi Jaiswal hasn’t done much wrong but he hasn’t been getting opportunities for India in white-ball cricket,” Kaid added.
“For Dhoni, making the team win is the biggest goal. If he is coming to play again, he will be thinking CSK finished 10th in the standings last year. He is a man of pride; hence, his biggest goal will be to make the team win another trophy. A team cannot win the trophy based on one player.”
“If Jadeja has to be sacrificed for the team’s good, Dhoni will do it. People say how Dhoni operates based on friendships and does it, giving them a couple of extra chances. But it doesn’t mean his focus goes away from winning. The goal is to make CSK a champion. That’s why he will let go of Jadeja if it has to be done. If Dhoni feels he can get a better option for the team, he will take the decision.”
The Natwest Trophy final hero highlighted that Dhoni didn’t work a lot on his wicket-keeping when he burst onto the scene in 2004 and he developed his own method at the top level.
“See, there are two types of players. One who goes to practice in the morning and comes in the evening. We will laud his commitment and dedication but the result might not necessarily come. When MS Dhoni first came in 2004, he didn’t practice much either even then,” Kaif said.
“Dhoni has a unique way of catching the ball while keeping and he has developed it himself. No wicketkeeper in history has done this kind of work. If someone tells me Dhoni has done so much hard work to become such a great keeper, then it’s not true,” he added.
CSK’s CEO, Kasi Viswanathan, has revealed that Dhoni will play in the next season of IPL 2026.
