New Delhi: Expectations were sky high as fans waited to catch a glimpse of their superstar. MS Dhoni In action in IPL 2026, but the wait continues. When Rutoraj Gaikwad walked out to the toss with Ajinkya Rahane at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, fans were hoping to hear the words: “Ms. Dhoni Will play today.”But the announcement never came.Dhoni, who was seen batting in the nets ahead of the CSK vs KKR clash on Monday, is still recovering.KKR Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and elected to field against CSK.
“Want to bowl first. I think the last match was very good for us. Unfortunately, the result didn’t go our way. But I thought the kind of cricket we played, the boys are getting that confidence from the last match. It’s all about fresh starts. It’s important when things aren’t going your way, it’s important to have faith, stay positive and live those small, small moments in the T20 format that’s really important. So, now looking forward to this game, we will start very well with the ball and then chase the target,” Rahane said during the toss. “Yeah, absolutely. The knock that Muckle played last night was fantastic. I mean, it’s going to happen in this format. Like I said, it’s all about belief. You know, guys are working really hard. What makes a difference for us, putting in those hard efforts, focusing on control levels as players and, you know, I saw everybody individually, as I saw everybody individually. If it was good for us in the last game, Yeah, thinking about that game and wanting to be in the moment. I mean it’s hard to find the right balance after a mega auction and obviously the flow players are going through injuries, players are not available. Tonight, just one change for us. Varun Chakraborty is fit. He has replaced Navdeep Saini,” he said. On the other hand, Gaekwad did not provide any update on MS Dhoni’s fitness and chose to stick with the same playing XI.“Yeah, we would have bowled first too. But like I said, you know, the wicket hasn’t changed much throughout the game. So there’s not much of a difference. It’s definitely going to be hard to put a big first-innings total on the scoreboard, but like I said, you know, it looks like a really good level. Yeah, like I said, even after the match, I felt the bowling was really good at defending 210, you know, against a strong DC side. Gave us a lot of confidence and you know, even the fielding unit was charged. We saved some runs and so I think collectively we did very well,” Gaikwad said. “Today is also really exciting. We’ve got a job and everyone is feeling confident. And talking about today’s combination, Ajinkya, I think in your case too, you seem to be getting the balance right now. Yes, I think we are slowly getting it right. You know, Brews is coming back and you know, J&P is also giving that crucial over in the middle. So I think we’re slowly, slowly getting the right combination and it’s just about delivering and being consistent every single game. And what’s your collection for today’s game? We are going with the same team,” he said. CSK have played five matches so far this season, including this clash, and Dhoni has missed all of them due to a calf strain.On 28 March, CSK said Dhoni would be ruled out for the first two weeks of the tournament and would undergo rehabilitation. While this period is now over, he is yet to regain full match fitness.Dhoni has not traveled with the squad even for away fixtures this season.In 278 IPL matches, Dhoni has scored 5,439 runs in 242 innings at an average of 38.30 and a strike rate of 137.45, including 24 fifties, with a highest score of 84*. He is currently the sixth highest run scorer in IPL history.Last season, when CSK finished at the bottom of the table, he scored 196 runs in 13 innings at an average of 24.50 and a strike rate of over 135, with a top score of 30.Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (W), Ruman Powell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakraborty, Vibhu Arora, Karthik Tyagi.Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Sanju Samson (W), Rituraj Gaikwad (Captain), Ayush Mahatre, Sarfraz Khan, Shivm Dubey, David Brews, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapaneet Singh, Khalil Ahmed.
