MS Dhoni is ‘likely to miss” the first two weeks of IPL 2026 as he is recovering from a calf strain, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) announced on Saturday.
The CSK stalwart is currently undergoing rehab for the calf strain, CSK said in a post on X.
With the IPL 2026 starting today, CSK are scheduled to open their campaign in the new season on Monday (March 30) against Rajasthan Royals. In the first two weeks they would also meet Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals.
Sanju Samson, who joined CSK from the Royals in a pre-season transfer deal, would be donning the wicketkeeping gloves in Dhoni’s absence. Urvil Patel and Kartik Sharma are the other two wicket-keeping options for the Chennai outfit.
CSK bought Kartik for a whopping Rs 14.20 crore looking at his six-hitting exploits in domestic cricket, while Urvil was retained by CSK after he played three matches last season.
Dhoni featured in all the matches for CSK last year, batting lower down the order. CSK were hit by injury before the start to IPL 2026, when Australian quick Nathan Ellis was ruled out due to a hamstring injury, and was later replaced by compatriot Spencer Johnson.
In IPL 2025, CSK had a horrid campaign where they finished at the bottom of the table with just four wins.
