‘MS Dhoni where is he?’: Excited Ravi Shashtri sends Chepauk crowd into tossing frenzy – Watch

Ravi Shashtri drives the Chepauk crowd into a frenzy (Screengrab) NEW DELHI: The atmosphere in Chepauk turned electric even before the first ball of the high stakes IPL 2026 clash between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad thanks to a classic moment involving former India coach Ravi Shastri and MS Dhoni.During the toss on Monday, Shastri sent the packed Chennai crowd into a frenzy when he cheekily asked CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad the question every fan in the stadium wanted answered.“I have to ask you this. MS Dhoni, where is he? Is he playing?” Shastri said as loud cheers erupted around the MA Chidambaram Stadium.The mention of Dhoni’s name created a deafening noise from the stands and thousands of fans were hoping that the CSK legend would finally make his debut in IPL 2026. However, Gaikwad quickly put an end to the tension.“He is still here but he is not fit enough to play this game,” replied the CSK skipper, drawing mixed reactions from the crowd.Watch:Dhoni has not featured this season due to a calf strain, although his regular appearances during training sessions have kept alive speculation of a possible comeback. Ahead of the match, former players including Ravichandran Ashwin hinted that Dhoni could potentially feature as an Impact Player, while Sunil Gavaskar expressed doubts whether the veteran would risk a comeback during such a crucial stage of the tournament.The game itself has huge playoff implications for both teams. CSK entered the competition in sixth place with six wins from 12 matches and needed a win in both their remaining matches to stay alive in the play-off race. Meanwhile, SRH came into the game third in the table with seven wins from 12 matches.In the draw, SRH fielded a strong XI with Heinrich Klaasen, Ishan Kishan and skipper Pat Cummins, while CSK handed starts to Sanju Samson, Dewald Brevis and Spencer Johnson on another must-win night in Chepauk.Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Smaran Ravichandran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Praful Hinge.Sunrisers Hyderabad Impact Subs: Cast: Travis Head, Aniket Verma, Liam Livingstone, Harsh Dubey, Harshal PatelChennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Prashant Veer, Akeal Hosein, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Spencer JohnsonChennai Super Kings Impact Subs: Starring: Mukesh Choudhary, Matthew Short, Sarfaraz Khan, Aman Khan, Gurjapneet Singh