Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will have to field a seemingly undermanned side in their IPL 2026 opener against the Rajasthan Royals on March 30, Monday at the Baraspara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. With MS Dhoni and Dewald Brevis unavailable for the five-time champions’ opening contest, they are shorn of impact players in the line-up but it will be interesting how the Super Kings structure their eleven.
Who will replace MS Dhoni and Dewald Brevis in Chennai Super Kings’ XI?
An excellent keeper-batter and a bona fide six-hitter, the 44-year-old will be extremely difficult to replace in the line-up. As the most-capped player in IPL history, the Yellow Army might also feel the lack of his experience, especially when the game remains at a knife’s edge. Sarfaraz Khan could take the legendary cricketer’s absence not only as a batter but also behind the stumps. Having made a comeback into the IPL, this will be Sarfaraz’s chance to reinstate his credentials and improve his IPL record. But Samson remains the favourite to keep wickets.
The options to replace Dewald Brevis remains rather scarce. Brevis is a game-changer in T20 cricket and can bat as well during the death. Kartik Sharma, who fetched a hefty ₹14.20 crore and Urvil Patel, another hard-hitter can fill the 22-year-old’s spot in the XI. Their T20 strike rate stands at 162.92 and 179.47, respectively, but it remains to be seen if the youngsters can live up to that reputation. The Super Kings don’t have a like-for-like replacement for Brevis in the overseas contingent.
Chennai Super Kings’ IPL 2026 squad
Ruturaj Gaikwad(C), MS Dhoni, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Dewald Brevis, Ayush Mhatre, Kartik Sharma, Sarfaraz Khan, Urvil Patel, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Prashant Veer, Matthew William Short, Aman Khan, Zak Foulkes, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Gurjapneet Singh, Akeal Hosein, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar.
Chennai Super Kings’ probable playing XI for RR game
Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Ayush Mhatre, Urvil Patel, Sarfaraz Khan, Aman Khan, Prashant Veer, Akeal Hosein, Noor Ahmad, Rahul Chahar, Matt Henry.
What are Chennai Super Kings’ Impact player options?
With Shivam Dube’s bowling not very incisive in the recently-concluded T20 World Cup 2026, he could be brought as an impact player in the eleven to dish out sixes at well.
Impact player options for CSK: Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma, Zak Foulkes, Ramkrishna Ghosh.
What will be Rajasthan Royals’ probable playing XI?
The Royals have also had an injury concern in Sam Curran, with Dasun Shanaka replacing him. Hence, they might start as slight favourites against the Yellow Army.
RR probable playing XI: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag (c), Dhruv Jurel, Ravi Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Kwena Maphaka/Adam Milne, Ravi Bishnoi, Sandeep Sharma.
