MI vs CSK: The Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings clash at Wankhede Stadium was without two of the most prominent names of the Indian Premier League. Among the two, one was MS Dhoni, who is yet to play a game in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League. As MS Dhoni continues his recovery from the calf strain he sustained before the IPL 2026 began, the former CSK captain has now missed 7 matches in a row. During the MI vs CSK clash, Super Kings’ batting coach, Mike Hussey, was involved in a chat with Ravi Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar. The two commentators questioned Hussey on the possible return date of Dhoni.
IPL 2026: Will MS Dhoni play in the next game?
MS Dhoni was spotted last night during practice sessions, where he did wicket-keeping drills in the nets. Although he was said to be fit for the match, he was not included in the team lineup. Interestingly, MS Dhoni has also been absent from both the dugout and the stadium tonight. The CSK batting coach said, “We are hopeful that MS Dhoni will return in the next game, and we want him back as soon as possible. He wasn’t 100% today, but he was batting well in the nets and running between the wickets, so hopefully he’ll be back next match.” Hussey was asked whether Dhoni would return as a wicketkeeper or play as an impact player. To this question, Hussey said, “When MS Dhoni comes, he will be behind the stumps, not as an impact player.”
IPL 2026: Why is MS Dhoni not playing MI vs CSK?
The IPL 2026 match against the Mumbai Indians on Thursday at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai did not feature MS Dhoni. Due to a calf injury sustained during the preseason, Dhoni has missed all matches for the Chennai Super Kings this season. Despite having undergone training for some time, he is still not completely ready to return to CSK. As per a report from Revsportz, he is likely to make his comeback in the match on May 21 against the Gujarat Titans, but the final decision rests with the former captain of the Indian cricket team.
After the renowned CSK captain kept the wickets, the training session on Tuesday included a batting drill in the nets. On Wednesday, he played for a very brief time before taking a break and returning for nearly an hour to face throwdown specialists and rapid bowlers. On the ground, though, there were also some fun moments when Dhoni, who has always loved dogs, saw the AI-powered IPL robotic dog and briefly played with it.
Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings Match Scorecard:
It was once again a special knock from Sanju Samson at the Wankhede Stadium. The CSK opening batter scored his second century of the season and repeated his heroics from the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2026, where he played a match-winning knock against England. Tonight, in the MI vs CSK clash, Samson top-scored with an unbeaten knock of 101 runs in 54 balls. It was a one-man show at the Wankhede Stadium from the right-handed batter as the rest of the batters managed to score only 97 runs off 69 balls.
For the hosts, the Mumbai Indians, Allah Ghazanfar and Ashwani Kumar picked up a couple of wickets each. Jasprit Bumrah was the most economical bowler as he gave only 31 runs in four overs while picking up the wicket of Kartik Sharma. The Hardik Pandya-led side would need to chase 208 runs to record their third win of the season.
