Literally every Chennai Super Kings and Indian Premier League fan is awaiting the return of tournament of former 5-time IPL winning captain MS Dhoni, who still hasn’t recovered from a calf injury sust
Published: May 8, 2026 1:14 PM IST
Literally every Chennai Super Kings and Indian Premier League fan is awaiting the return of tournament of former 5-time IPL winning captain MS Dhoni, who still hasn’t recovered from a calf injury sustained right before the start of the tournament. It was supposedly Dhoni’s farewell season in the cash-rich league but as it stands, we might not even see him swing his bat this season.
Highlights
- The 44-year-old was slated to play his first game on May 2nd against the Mumbai Indians but he was ultimately excluded and that speaks volumes about how fit he is at the moment. CSK have been teasing Dhoni’s return with videos of him training at the nets, but nothing seems concrete
CSK are currently stranded in the bottom-half of the points table with very slim chances of making it to the play-offs. Chennai has to win their remaining 4 matches in the league stages, otherwise they would miss out on a top 4 spot for the 3rd season in a row and since lifting their 5th IPL title back in 2023.
The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side got off to a poor start in the on-going 2026 season, losing back-to-back three matches against the Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings and reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru before opening their account with consecutive wins over the Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders.
In their last 5 outings, CSK have improved drastically, winning three games while losing only twice. This recovery helped them go 6th in the points table and it has also opened up a path for them qualify for the play-offs if they are able to win at least 3 out of their 4 matches.
In between, there are also talks of MS Dhoni possibly playing a farewell match in front of CSK supporters at the Chepauk Stadium but that remains a distant possibility. It’s because his inclusion will disrupt the team combination and Chennai cannot afford to do that for the sake of their play-offs aspirations.
The 44-year-old was slated to play his first game on May 2nd against the Mumbai Indians but he was ultimately excluded and that speaks volumes about how fit he is at the moment. CSK have been teasing Dhoni’s return with videos of him training at the nets, but nothing seems concrete.
Watch Dhoni bowling at the nets
Just too AdoraBOWL! #WhistlePodu #Yellove pic.twitter.com/pkIAGszBE7
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) May 7, 2026
The South Indian franchise has once again done something similar, uploading a video of MS Dhoni, who this time, can be seen bowling at the nets. With CSK preparing for their upcoming clash against the Lucknow Super Giants at Anbuden this Sunday, Dhoni was actively involved in the training sessions.
In a 9 second clip, which is now going viral across social media, Dhoni can be seen bowling in low intensity. It is surely not a hint of his supposed return but something for the fans.
CSK’s squad for IPL 2026
Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), M.S. Dhoni, Sanju Samson, Dewald Brewis, Ayush Mhatre, Kartik Sharma, Sarfaraz Khan, Urvil Patel, Anshul Kamboj, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Prashant Veer, Mathew William Short, Aman Khan, Zak Foulkes, Shivam Dube, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Spencer Johnson, Shreyas Gopal, Gurjapneet Singh, Akeal Hosein, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar.
