MS Dhoni will miss Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) IPL 2026 fixture against Delhi Capitals (DC) on Tuesday (May 5) as he continues to recover from a calf injury and has not travelled to Delhi, bowling consultant Eric Simons confirmed.
The 44-year-old has missed all nine of CSK’s matches so far due to a calf injury. With only five league games remaining, it's not clear if fans are ever going to see him play in the cash-rich event again.
Initially ruled out for two weeks, Dhoni’s recovery hit an obstacle after he re-tweaked his calf muscle during a warm-up session.
While Dhoni is doing rehab and batting in the nets, Simons said the veteran wicketkeeper will return only when fully fit.
“An update on MS Dhoni is way above my pay grade. He is not with us but steadily improving. He will be ready when he is ready and he knows when he is ready to play. No, he hasn't travelled with the team,” Simons said in the pre-match presser on Monday (May 4).
CSK are currently occupying sixth spot on the points table with four wins. They need at least four more victories from their remaining fixtures to stay in contention for the playoffs.
Meanwhile, CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad has found his form after a poor start to the season. Simons hailed Gaikwad as a 'surgeon in this world of chaos batting.'
“We have been clear about the leadership group and he's clearly the leader of the team. It was just again a case of when he gets his runs. He has had some tough innings in the sense that we have been in trouble.
“The wickets have been tough and he has battled through them. I think that is the hallmark of a really quality batsman – that he doesn't score runs on good wickets. For me I have always called him a surgeon in this world of chaos batting.
“He is the kind of guy that gets 50 runs in 22 balls and you haven't noticed him. We are starting to see that part of him again. The leadership has always been there. He has always been the captain. It is good that he is now scoring runs but there was never a doubt that he was going to,” the bowling consultant elaborated.
In the ongoing IPL, Sanju Samson has been in electric form with 304 runs including two centuries in eight outings, while Urvil Patel and Kartik Sharma have made valuable contributions with the bat. However, Shivam Dube has struggled for consistency, with 150 runs in eight innings, and Dewald Brevis has had limited high-impact scores.
“Nothing is really ailing them. In this tournament, we have seen top players struggle for a bit before playing a breakout innings.
“With the quality those two individuals bring, it is just a case of when it happens rather than if it happens. So there is not an over concern around it. It is just the way it happens in this tournament - games come quick and fast.
“They play in a tough period of the game and you can go out there and try and accelerate the run rates and get out and before you know it two or three innings have gone by. They are both very, very experienced cricketers and very good cricketers with great records. It is just a case of when they come right,” Simons remarked.
(With IANS Inputs)
