There is some good news for MS Dhoni fans as the former India captain is expected to play his first match in IPL 2026 when Chennai Super Kings takes on Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
Ahead of the match, Dhoni was seen batting and wicket-keeping in the nets. During his batting session, he faced pacers Matt Henry and Jamie Overton where it seemed like he has recovered from the calf problem.
Former CSK player Ravichandran Ashwin confirmed that Dhoni has been declared fit to return and he believes ‘Thala’ would definitely play in the match against MI on Thursday.
“I’ve never seen Dhoni keeping in the nets before-never in my life. Today he was keeping, which means he is going to take the wicket-keeping gloves, and Sanju would have to take an outfield role or might come in as an impact player. And I’m 100% sure that he will play tomorrow (day after). I’ve heard that he is fit and good to go,” said Ashwin in a video on his YouTube channel.
https://x.com/IS_Netwrk29/status/2046660888338542880
Dhoni was expected to be sidelined for just a couple of weeks at the start of IPL 2026, but that stretched and he ended up missing the first 25 days of the new season.
CSK have also been dealing with a string of injury setbacks. Fast bowler Khaleel Ahmed and young batter Ayush Mhatre have both been ruled out for the rest of the season and the team is yet to announce who will replace them.
Meanwhile, there is some good news for MI. Allrounder Will Jacks is fit again and could feature in Thursday’s game. He trained with the squad on Tuesday and is likely to be in the mix for a place in the playing XI against Chennai.
