MS Dhoni suffered a calf strain.
CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad gave MS Dhoni injury update during the toss before the marquee clash against the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Dhoni has been out of action in IPL 2026 due to a calf strain and has been undergoing rehabilitation.
Hence, he will miss all CSK games in the initial two weeks, with further participation to be decided based on his recovery. Gaikwad confirmed that Dhoni has been recovering slowly and should be available soon, though he didn’t give any return date.
“MS is getting back slowly; sometimes it takes time. If he’s ready to play, it’ll be soon,” CSK captain exclaimed on MS Dhoni injury update.
Dhoni has had injury issues recently, particularly his chronic knee injury, for which he underwent surgery after the 2023 season and returned to action for the subsequent editions. However, he showed obvious signs of discomfort and needed extensive management for both the 2024 and 2025 seasons, and now sits out due to a calf strain he sustained sometime before the start of IPL 2026.
MS Dhoni sits out for CSK at the worst possible time, when they are highly dependent on his lower-order batting in slog overs. In the current setup, the Chennai-based franchise only has Jamie Overton as an established option in the lower order, since the likes of Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma are highly inexperienced.
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In the initial two games, Dhoni’s absence was highly noticeable, for he could have added batting depth and whacked pace in death overs. Additionally, his superior game-reading ability and wicketkeeping skills could have helped Gaikwad make better decisions.
From what Gaikwad revealed about MS Dhoni injury update, the veteran player might miss a few more games, as management wouldn’t want to rush him back. He has already had issues of late, and at this age, he will take more time to recover from every minor to major injury setbacks.
MS Dhoni might need to decide his future with CSK, because such injuries will keep occurring at this age, especially since he doesn’t play any other competitive cricket. Considering his recent concerns, Dhoni might well need to step away from playing and rather take the coaching role at the five-time champions to allow the team to build without him from next season.
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