Chennai Super Kings have played seven matches in IPL 2026, but former captain MS Dhoni has not played till now. There were reports of his comeback against Mumbai Indians on Thursday, but he did not play in this match either. Chennai defeated Mumbai by 103 runs. During this match, the team’s batting coach Mike Hussey gave a big update on Dhoni’s return. Michael Hussey made it clear on Thursday that whenever MS Dhoni returns from his calf injury, he will take up his responsibilities as a wicketkeeper and not just as an ‘impact player’.
44-year-old MS Dhoni could not play his seventh consecutive match of IPL 2026 in the match against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. He is still recovering from the injury that initially kept him out of the team for two weeks on March 28. There was speculation that Dhoni might return as only a specialist batsman using the ‘Impact Player’ rule, especially with Sanju Samson and Karthik Sharma available as wicket-keeping options.
However, Mike Hussey rejected this possibility and indicated that Dhoni would return to his old and familiar role behind the wicket.
Halfway through the match, Hussey told the broadcaster: “I’m pretty sure he’ll be behind the wicket. The biggest thing for him is that he has a calf injury. The only problem is in running. If he comes to bat in the last overs of the innings, he will have to take a couple of runs quickly. He just has to make sure that his calf is strong enough to withstand the pressure.”
