‘MS Dhoni, where is he?’: Excited Ravi Shastri sends Chepauk crowd into toss frenzy

Ravi Shastri sends the Chepak crowd into a frenzy (Screengrab)

New Delhi: Even before the first ball of the high-stakes IPL 2026 clash, the atmosphere at Chepauk was electrifying. Chennai Super Kings And Sunrisers Hyderabad were bowled, thanks to a brilliant moment involving the former India coach. Ravi Shastri And MS Dhoni.During the toss on Monday, Shastri sent the packed Chennai crowd into a frenzy when he playfully asked the CSK skipper. Rituraj Gaikwad The question that every fan inside the stadium wanted answered.“I have to ask you that question. MS Dhoni, where is he? Is he playing?” Shastri said when loud chants started ringing around the MA Chidambaram Stadium.The mention of Dhoni’s name triggered a deafening roar from the stands, with thousands of fans hoping that the CSK legend would finally make his debut in IPL 2026. However, Gaekwad soon dispels the suspense.“He is still here, but he is not fit enough to play this game,” replied the CSK skipper, eliciting a mixed reaction from the crowd.See:Dhoni has not featured this season due to a calf strain, although his regular presence during training sessions has kept speculation alive over a possible return. Ahead of the match, former players including Ravichandran Ashwin hinted that Dhoni could potentially serve as an impact player, while Sunil Gavaskar doubted whether the veteran would risk a comeback during such a crucial stage of the tournament.This match itself has huge playoff implications for both teams. CSK enter the competition in sixth place with six wins from 12 matches and need victories in the remaining two games to stay alive in the play-off race. Meanwhile, SRH climbed to the third position in the table with seven wins from 12 matches.In the toss, SRH fielded a strong XI that included Heinrich Klaasen, Ishan Kishan and skipper Pat Cummins, while CSK gave starts to Sanju Samson, Dewald Brevis and Spencer Johnson on another crucial night in Chepauk.Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (W), Henrik Klaasen, Salil Arora, Simran Ravichandran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pete Cummins (C), Shivang Kumar, Ishan Malinga, Saqib Hussain, Parful HingeSunrisers Hyderabad Impact Subs: Travis Head, Aniket Verma, Liam Livingstone, Harsh Dubey, Harshal PatelChennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Sanju Samson (W), Rituraj Gaekwad (C), Arul Patel, Karthik Sharma, Devald Brews, Shivam Dubey, Prashant Vir, Akil Hussain, Noor Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Spencer JohnsonChennai Super Kings Impact Subs: Mukesh Chaudhary, Matthew Short, Sarfaraz Khan, Aman Khan, Gurjapaneet Singh