MS Dhoni will miss CSK's last home game but retirement rumors have resurfaced

Hearts were left in Chepauk after it was confirmed that their ‘Thala’ MS Dhoni will not play in Chennai Super Kings’ last home match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday 18 May. Dhoni traveled with the team to the stadium but remains ineligible to take the field.

Dhoni did not play a single match this season after a calf injury before the start of the campaign. The injury severely limited his involvement in matchday squads, although he remained closely linked to the squad throughout the campaign.

“The good news is he is still here. But he is not fit enough to play this match. Hopefully we will win this match and you never know, maybe in the last match,” captain Ruturaj Gaikwad said at the toss.

This comes after Dhoni’s involvement in the side’s training ahead of the SRH clash. The meeting again raised hopes among fans to see him in Chepauk, which could potentially be his last appearance in front of the home crowd in his legendary IPL career. Dhoni is training with the CSK team, taking part in guided net sessions and fitness work.

Dhoni continued to travel with the team to matches without appearing in any of the games. However, he did not travel with the team for most of the away matches and was not present at the stadiums during the matches, a pattern that fueled further speculation about his availability and long-term future in the IPL.

PLAYING XIS

The match against SRH is a must win game for both sides as they look to secure a place in the playoffs. CSK made one change to their playing XI, bringing in Akeal Hosein for Gurjapneet Singh, while SRH named an unchanged side from their previous game.

Chennai Super Kings: Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Prashant Veer, Akeal Hosein, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Spencer Johnson

Impact Subs: Starring: Mukesh Choudhary, Matthew Short, Sarfaraz Khan, Aman Khan, Gurjapneet Singh

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 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.

Impact Subs: Travis Head, Aniket Verma, Liam Livingstone, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel

– The end

Published on:

18 May 2026 19:29 IST