MS Dhoni suffered a calf strain before the IPL 2026 began and has now missed 3 weeks of action.
Notably, MS Dhoni had injured his calf before the IPL 2026 began, and while CSK had mentioned he was ruled out for the first two weeks of the season, Dhoni has missed over three weeks now.
According to some reports, he might return for either Thursday's match against rivals Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium or Sunday's afternoon showdown with Gujarat Titans at home, the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk.
However, CSK batting coach Mike Hussey stated that MS Dhoni is now fit to bat and 'progressing wonderfully' in terms of running fitness.
“He’s progressing nicely with his rehab. And look, I’m a batting coach, and I’m happy with how he’s batting. As you saw yesterday at training, he’s batting well. He was very happy with where his batting is at," Hussey stated at the press conference.
Though Hussey couldn't say when Dhoni will return to CSK's starting lineup, he did affirm the 44-year-old was in the last stages of regaining confidence in his body.
“He’s just progressing with his running, because obviously he’s going to bat towards the back end of the innings; he’s going to scurry off to those twos and things like that. So, he just needs to get confidence in his running and build that speed up. Look, I don’t know when he’s going to play, but I am hoping it’s sooner rather than later, like all the fans are," Hussey said.
CSK desperately needs some inspiration in their ongoing IPL 2026 campaign, where they are at the 7th spot with 2 wins from 6 games and have four points to their name.