Legendary captain MS Dhoni has already left the Chennai Super Kings camp ahead of the final IPL 2026 league game against Gujarat Titans. The veteran cricketer hasnโt played a single game this season and it is believed that he has left the team to recover from a thumb injury that he picked up recently. The update was confirmed by batting coach Michael Hussey ahead of the must-win fixture in Ahmedabad.
However, on the matchday eve, the former Australia international also confirmed that Dhoni will rejoin the squad if CSK manage to make it to the playoffs. It is currently in jeopardy after the five-time champions lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad in their penultimate match of the league stage. A victory against Gujarat would move Chennai to 14 points, though their qualification would still depend on results elsewhere during the final stretch of the league phase.
โI can confirm he is not here with the team, but if we do happen to qualify, then he will definitely join back up with the team. He has got a bit of a sore thumb, so it is recovering nicely, but he would not be ready for this match. But hopefully, if we can manage to get through to the playoffs, then hopefully he will be alright,โ Hussey said in the pre-match press conference.
We were all disappointed after SRH game: Hussey
Reflecting on the recent loss to Hyderabad, Hussey admitted the result left the dressing room disappointed, particularly after CSK failed to close out their home leg on a positive note. Sunrisers chased down 181 in that game, powered by a match-winning half-century from Ishan Kishan.
“Obviously, it has made it more difficult for us to get through to the top four. Individually, everyone will take a few little learnings from it, but we have to move on quite quickly. We were all very disappointed, obviously, after the match. We were a bit flat in the dressing room. But the coach spoke to us about, OK, come on, we have got one more game, one more chance, so we have got to make sure we move on from this very quickly. It is all about our attitude moving forward,โ Hussey said.
Despite the setback, Hussey stressed that the sideโs immediate focus remains on delivering a strong all-round display in Ahmedabad and approaching the contest with confidence.
“As long as we move forward with a really positive, confident attitude, we stick together, we keep smiling, and we have got to make sure we try and put on our best possible performance here in Ahmedabad. That has been the focus, trying to move on as quickly as possible and turn up here with the best attitude we can,” he signed off.
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