For the first time in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), MS Dhoni missed out on all league matches of the Chennai Super Kings in a season. Not only is this fact heartbreaking, but it also
hints at a significant transition within the CSK camp, rather, the beginning of the post-Dhoni era.
Dhoni continued to be absent when CSK took on the Gujarat Titans (GT) in their last league-stage fixture of IPL 2026. Before the contest, batting coach Michael Hussey had confirmed that Dhoni would miss the GT fixture due to a thumb injury.
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“I can confirm he is not here with the team, but if we do happen to qualify, then he will definitely join back up with the team. He has got a bit of a sore thumb, so it is recovering nicely, but he would not be ready for this match,” Hussey told reporters on Wednesday evening in Ahmedabad.
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Before IPL 2026, MS Dhoni had missed just five matches for Chennai Super Kings in his entire IPL career. Three of those came in 2010: against Delhi Daredevils, Kings XI Punjab, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The other two were in 2019, when he sat out games against Sunrisers Hyderabad (back spasm) and Mumbai Indians (fever).
Since 2020, Dhoni has featured in every game he was available for, even leading CSK to title wins in 2021 and 2023. He also played all 14 matches in the 2025 season. The only interruption in his IPL journey came in 2016 and 2017, when CSK were suspended, and he turned out for Rising Pune Supergiant.
Meanwhile, batting coach Michael Hussey hinted that Dhoni could return if CSK make the playoffs.
“Hopefully, if we can get through to the playoffs, he should be alright,” Hussey said.
A win over the Gujarat Titans would take CSK to 14 points, but their playoff hopes would still depend on other results going their way.
