Chennai Super Kings’ IPL 2026 opener against Rajasthan Royals marks a rare moment of MS Dhoni missing out on an IPL match. Despite being in his 40s, Dhoni has been a regular for the Super Kings, though his role has been reduced to bat for just a few balls apart from his wicketkeeping duties in the past couple of years.ย
Leading into the IPL 2026, Dhoni has picked up a calf strain and is rehabilitating for it, CSK had confirmed a couple of days ago. “Official Statement. MS Dhoni is currently undergoing rehabilitation for a calf strain. As a result, he is likely to miss the first two weeks of the TATA IPL 2026. Get well soon, Thala!” CSK wrote in a statement on X on March 28.ย
How has CSK performed in Dhoni’s absence?
Dhoni has been a rare absentee for CSK since 2008. Ever since being picked by the Super Kings and being named their captain, Dhoni has missed out on just five matches. He has been part of 248 of the 253 matches for the Super Kings.ย
In the matches that CSK played without him, they have won just one game and lost four others. Raina has led the Super Kings in all those matches and could help the team win only one game and that came against Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in 2010. They lost in a Super Over to Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Royal Challengers Bengaluru) in the same year. CSK missed Dhoni for two matches in 2019 and lost both of their games to Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians.
CSK without Dhoni in IPL:
Matches played: 5
Matches won: 1
Matches lost: 4 (including one in a Super over)
CSK to miss Dhoni, Raina for first time
Meanwhile, CSK’s clash against the Royals will mark the first instance of the Super Kings missing out on both Dhoni and Suresh Raina in a T20 match. One of these two has always played in 277 league games (including 24 in CLT20) until now, which will change in the RR clash.