Chennai Super Kings (CSK) missed the services of MS Dhoni for the seventh straight game in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after the former skipper was not included in the playing XI against Mumbai Indians at the iconic Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
Dhoni was ruled out for the first two weeks of IPL 2026 due to a calf strain on March 28. It has been almost a month since then as Dhoni is yet to reach full match fitness, although according to batting coach Michael Hussey there are no issues with the way he is batting in the nets.
With Dhoni keeping wickets for the first time on the eve of the match, dubbed the IPL El Clasico, there were speculations whether Dhoni would make a comeback in Mumbai. But to their disappointment, Dhoni did not arrive at the stadium with the team. The confirmation came when Gaikwad was asked about the overwhelming reception in this part of the country.
“Yes, all this of course thanks to the legend (Dhoni) who is unfortunately not here,” Gaikwad said at the coin toss.
MI vs CSK playing XI
Mumbai Indians: Quinton de Kock (w), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Tilak Varma, Sherfane Rutherford, Mitchell Santner, Jasprit Bumrah, Krish Bhagat, AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar
Chennai Super Kings: Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Sarfaraz Khan, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary
