IPL 2026: MS Dhoni Set to Miss CSK vs MI Clash? Big Update on Former Captain’s Availability

Former Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni is unlikely to feature in the IPL 2026 clash against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium tonight as per a Revsports report. While there is no official confirmation from the franchise yet, Dhoni is likely to miss the clash against the Mumbai Indians. The legendary wicketkeeper-batter has not featured in IPL 2026 so far due to a calf strain suffered during a pre-season training camp.

Recent videos shared by CSK on social media have raised hopes of a possible return. On the eve of the match at Wankhede Stadium, MS Dhoni was seen batting in the nets. In a rare sight, he also kept wickets during a training session on Tuesday.

His presence in Mumbai itself is a positive sign in his recovery, as he had not travelled with the squad for previous away matches.

IPL 2026: What Eric Simons had said?

CSK bowling coach Eric Simons remained non-committal about Dhoni‘s participation in the clash, deferring to the medical team.

“MS will only play when he feels he is ready and the medical team clears him. I’m not going to make any announcement here,” Simons said.

“Someone like MS never really goes away. He’s always there as a resource… The tactics we’re using at the death have benefited from his insights.”

IPL 2026: R Ashwin Looks Optimistic About MS Dhoni’s Return

Former CSK player Ravichandran Ashwin sounded far more confident. Speaking on his YouTube channel, he said Dhoni is “100 per cent” likely to feature. Ashwin pointed to Dhoni keeping wickets in the nets as a key indicator.

“I’ve never seen MS Dhoni keeping wickets in the nets. That suggests he’s preparing to play… I’m 100 per cent sure he will play against Mumbai Indians.”

Squads:

Mumbai Indians Squad: Quinton de Kock(w), Danish Malewar, Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Sherfane Rutherford, Mitchell Santner, Krish Bhagat, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Mayank Rawat, Raghu Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Shardul Thakur, Will Jacks, Mayank Markande, Ryan Rickelton, Robin Minz, Mohammed Salahuddin Izhar

Chennai Super Kings Squad: Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Matthew Short, Sarfaraz Khan, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Matt Henry, MS Dhoni, Akeal Hosein, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Chahar, Spencer Johnson, Urvil Patel, Aman Khan, Zakary Foulkes

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