On 28th March, Chennai Super Kings confirmed through their official handle that former captain and five-time champion MS Dhoni has sustained a calf injury and he is currently doing his rehabilitation in Chennai.
Interestingly, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) arrived in Guwahati a couple of days before their opening match against the first edition champions Rajasthan Royals, which is scheduled to be played on 30th March 2026 at the Guwahati Stadium. However, MS Dhoni didn’t travel along with the team to Guwahati.
A day after that first news hit, it is known that MS Dhoni will now miss at least first 6 matches of the season. This will not just be a really big hit to the CSK team and the fans but also to the tournament overall. MS Dhoni - who has been the face of the tournament and franchise for as long as 18 editions will surely be missed on the ground as fans come to watch him play. Especially from the time he announced his International retirement.
It will be interesting to see who will replace MS Dhoni in the squad as it’s highly unlikely to have a replacement of MS Dhoni as he is surely irreplaceable.
It looks like that the Ruturaj Gaikwad led Chennai Super Kings will either pick Urvil Patel or Kartik Sharma into the squad with Sanju Samson playing as their first choice wicketkeeper batter. It is also known the Sanju Samson will open alongside Ruturaj Gaikwad in the IPL, with Ayush Mhatre playing at number 3.
