Expectations surrounding MS Dhoni’s comeback were high but it was not to be as the veteran remained out of action. Mumbai Indians won the toss and decided to take on Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2026 match at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
Dhoni is yet to feature in IPL 2026. He has been recovering from a calf strain he suffered just before the start of the tournament late last month, and fan expectations have risen significantly ahead of the marquee encounter.
A day before the match, Dhoni lit up the stadium and entertained the cameramen, ground staff and crew members with his lighter side. He was seen playing with the robotic dog ‘Champak’ during a training session at the Wankhede Stadium. The five-time IPL-winning captain had a tough session on Tuesday, keeping wickets and later spending time batting in the nets.
He had a short opening stint on Wednesday before taking a break before returning for nearly an hour to face specialist pitching and fast bowlers.
After the session, Dhoni, who is known to be a dog lover, was again spotted interacting with the AI-powered robotic dog, trying to get it to mimic his gestures, though it didn’t always respond.
But for fans, the wait for their superstar continues.
After winning the toss, Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya said: “We’re going to bowl first. A lot of boxes were ticked, the intensity was there, we needed that game where everyone comes in and chips in. It was a conscious effort that the intensity is in your hands, we just wanted to have fun and things went our way. It looks green but played really well. Same team.”
ČSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, on the other hand, made one change in the eleven.
“We would have batted first as well but it was 50-50. It looks good. The wicket looks good and here at the Wankhede Stadium you have to bat well whether you’re batting first or batting first. So it’s just about putting on a great show even if you’re batting first. We’re doing really well. I just think we’re not able to capitalize a few times with our batting. We started really well in the last game but like I said it’s just a few moments where we have to make sure we win, but everyone is confident and ready to go.
“(Wherever you go men in yellow, is there a lot of noise?) Yes, of course it’s all because of the legend (Dhoni) who is unfortunately not here. But obviously it’s because of him. Wherever you go, we have a lot of support. So hopefully we’ll make them happy tonight. We have a few changes,” the CSK captain said.
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): 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 (Playing XI): Sanju Samson (w), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sarfaraz Khan, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary
