Chennai Super Kings are waiting for their talisman, MS Dhoni, to take the field in the Indian Premier League 2026. The five-time champions are set to take on the five-time winners Mumbai Indians on Thursday in what is defined as an El Clรกsico in the IPL. CSK’s struggles have been laid bare this season as the team has won only two of the six matches.ย
While the 44-year-old Dhoni’s presence alone might not make much of a difference, his return would give a morale boost to the yellow army and its fans to get behind the team in their bid for a season revival. And the new visuals from CSK’s practice might boost the chances of Dhoni’s return.ย
The CSK talisman was seen doing the wicketkeeping drills during the team’s practice session on Tuesday, two days ahead of their clash against MI at the Wankhede Stadium. Dhoni mocked the batter playfully when he stepped out, and the wicketkeeping maestro tried stumping him before signalling him to leave.
Watch the Video here:
Dhoni travelled with CSK but yet to take field
Notably, Dhoni is now travelling with the CSK team for their away games. He went to Hyderabad for Chennai’s clash against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 18; however, he didn’t play. He has also been with the team in Mumbai for the MI clash. This is the second time that Dhoni has travelled with the team for the away fixtures. With Dhoni travelling and doing wicketkeeping drills, it might not be long before he returns to action.
Dhoni’s return date still not confirmed
While Dhoni seems to be progressing in his practice sessions, there is still no confirmation on when Dhoni will be back in action. CSK batting coach Michael Hussey was asked about Dhoni’s return, and he had nothing much to offer. “Not really, I’m not sure,” said batting coach Hussey. “He’s progressing nicely with his rehab, and I’m happy with how he’s batting.”
Manjrekar criticises ‘sycophancy’ culture regarding Dhoni
Recently, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar criticised CSK’s management of Dhoni and called out the sycophancy culture in Indian cricket. “And then that thing with M.S. Dhoni โ whether heโs going to be playing, whether heโs going to be captain โ they handled that very badly. And this is where you see the sycophancy of Indian culture that has seeped into cricket as well. I mean, there isnโt just a fan following of Dhoni, there is sycophancy around it,” he added.
Meanwhile, the former Indian batter criticised Dhoni’s role of playing short cameos last year, calling it ‘a bit of a joke’. โMaybe, but then you have to play Dhoni on the field. And how do you do that? Increasingly, heโs finding it tough to deliver. It was a bit of a joke when he came down the order to face three or four balls, and the coverage hyped it up as โwhat an inningsโ. It lasted four balls.