Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad clarified MS Dhoni’s availability ahead of their IPL 2026 match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Dhoni, who is recovering from a calf strain, has been ruled out for the first two weeks of the tournament and missed the much-anticipated contest involving Virat Kohli.
After winning the toss and opting to bowl on a fresh surface, Gaikwad said, “He is slowly getting back on track. We all hope he will be back soon. He is eager to play but it takes time.”
RCB vs CSK, IPL 2026: UPDATE | SCORECARD
CSK had earlier confirmed Dhoni’s injury in a statement: “MS Dhoni is currently undergoing rehabilitation for a calf strain. As a result, he is likely to miss the first two weeks of IPL 2026. Get well soon Thala.”
Head coach Stephen Fleming had earlier made it clear that Dhoni’s absence from the field does not diminish his influence in the team.
After losing two consecutive tosses and two consecutive matches, Gaikwad finally managed to get the coin in his favor in Bengaluru. CSK opted to bowl first as they continue to look for their first points of the season.
The side were also without Dewald Brevis, who is recovering from a hip injury.
CSK made one change to their playing XI with the return of English all-rounder Jamie Overton, taking the number of overseas players to three after the team fielded only two overseas players in the previous match against Punjab Kings.
There was still no place for West Indies spin-bowling all-rounder Akeal Hosein. Local left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Prashant Veer retained his place in the playing XI despite not batting in the previous match.
In the bowling first XI. however, there was no place for Kartik Sharma. He was named on the Impact bench alongside Australian all-rounder Matt Short, with one of the two likely to be used when CSK bat.
As for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, they stuck with the same combination that won their opening match at the venue. The Rajat Patidar-led side continues to rely on a settled XI, with wrist spinner Suyash Sharma available as a supplementary option when he bowls later in the evening.
For now, CSK will have to do without Dhoni for the early stages of IPL 2026, with the franchise suggesting that the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman is expected to return only after completing his rehabilitation period.
RCB vs CSK: Playing XI
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (capt), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy
Bench Impact Subs: Cast: Suyash Sharma, Jacob Bethell, Rasikh Salam Dar, Kanishk Chouhan, Venkatesh Iyer
Chennai Super Kings: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Prashant Veer, Jamie Overton, Matt Henry, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed
Bench Impact Subs: Matt Short, Akeal Hosein, Kartik Sharma, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Gurjapneet Singh
IPL 2026 | IPL Schedule | IPL Points Table | IPL Videos | Cricket News | Live Score
– The end
Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
05 Apr 2026 19:39 IST
