Former CSK captain MS Dhoni has refused to give any concrete timeline on his return in IPL 2026. Dhoni has not played all 6 matches of CSK in IPL 2026 as he is recovering from a calf muscle strain.
His absence has made life difficult for five-time champions CSK, as they are eighth on the points table with 4 points from 6 matches. CSK has suffered one blow after another with injuries to key players and some other players being out of form.
CSK injury problem
Apart from MS Dhoni’s recovery from his calf injury, CSK have also had to deal with injuries to other players. Pacer Nathan Ellis was ruled out before the season, and CSK signed Spencer Johnson to replace him. Johnson was also recovering from injury but has now joined the CSK camp.
Dewald Brevis missed the opening game due to injury, but returned to the team. Despite making a comeback, Brewis was injured again and had to sit out.
Left-arm fast bowler Khalil Ahmed and top-order batsman Ayush Mhatre have also been completely ruled out of the tournament. CSK is understood to be looking for a replacement.
Also Read: Ravichandran Ashwin urges CSK to borrow the 19-year-old sensation from RCB as Ayush Mhatre’s replacement
MS Dhoni returns to action
RevSportz reports that MS Dhoni has still not confirmed whether he will be available for CSK’s clash against Mumbai Indians on April 23. Although he has been batting and keeping in the nets for the last few days, there is no indication whether he will be ready to get into action or not.
It is understood that the CSK team management has left the decision completely to him. If not against MI on April 23, Dhoni may finally return to action against Gujarat Titans on April 26. This would mean that what was initially reported as a ‘two-week absence’ could now potentially develop into MS Dhoni being unavailable for half the season.
Both dates are ultimately speculative in nature as Dhoni has not given any indication as to when he might finally take the field.
CSK without MS Dhoni
In Dhoni’s absence, Sanju Samson has taken over the responsibility of wicketkeeping for CSK. But his form with the bat has also been poor. In 6 matches, Samson has scored 192 runs with a high score of 115* and has not managed to cross the 50 mark in any other innings. However he has bounced back with a good strike rate of 175.
Dhoni’s absence has also caused middle-order problems for CSK as their established middle-order options in the form of Matt Short, Dewald Brewis, Karthik Sharma and Shivam Dubey have not been good.
csk upcoming schedule
Chennai Super Kings have won just two of their six matches so far in IPL 2026. This means that each upcoming match is important for them if they want to qualify for the playoffs.
CSK will next play Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on April 23 and then host both Gujarat Titans and MI on April 26 and May 2 respectively.
