IPL 2026 | Will MS Dhoni play CSK’s last league match against Gujarat Titans? The franchise is sharing a big update

MS Dhoni (Image credit: BCCI/IPL) NEW DELHI: When will MS Dhoni return to Chennai Super Kings this season? It’s a question that has dogged the franchise throughout IPL 2026, but there is still no definite answer.CSK, currently sixth in the table with 12 points from 13 matches, will face Gujarat Titans in their final match of the league stage on Thursday. Before the match, batting coach Michael Hussey once again addressed Dhoni’s availability. Hussey confirmed that Dhoni will miss the GT encounter due to a thumb injury, but added that the veteran batsman could return if CSK qualifies for the playoffs.A win against Gujarat Titans would take CSK to 14 points, though they would still need favorable results from their other remaining league matches to stay alive in the playoffs.“I can confirm he’s not here with the team but if we happen to qualify then he’ll definitely join the team. He’s got a bit of a sore thumb so he’s recovering nicely but he wouldn’t be ready for this game. But hopefully if we make the play-offs he’ll be fine,” Hussey said.CSK head into the game against GT on the back of back-to-back defeats. They first lost to Lucknow Super Giants before suffering a five-wicket defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad.Speaking about the loss to SRH, where Ishan Kishan played a match-winning half-century in a successful chase of 181, Hussey admitted the result was disappointing but stressed the need to move on quickly.“Obviously it made it difficult for us to finish in the top four. Individually everyone will take some small lessons from this but we have to move on quite quickly. We were all very disappointed after the game of course,” he said.“We were a little flat in the dressing room. But coach talked to us about, OK, come on, we’ve got one more game, one more chance, so we’ve got to make sure we get out of that very quickly. It’s all about our attitude moving forward,” he added.