Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming has hinted that Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s return for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 will be further delayed. This experienced wicketkeeper-batsman has suffered another setback while recovering from a calf injury.
Fans were hopeful that Dhoni would return to the field after being out for the first two weeks of IPL 2026, but Mahi has been out of the tournament for almost a month. Chennai Super Kings has played eight matches of its campaign. During this period, their former captain has not come on the field even once.
Giving an update after Chennai’s defeat to Gujarat Titans on Sunday, Fleming revealed that 42-year-old Dhoni’s injury got aggravated during the practice session, further complicating the matter. Initially it was considered a minor problem.
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Speaking to the media after Chennai Super Kings’ defeat to Gujarat Titans on Sunday, Fleming said, “He (Dhoni) is very desperate to play. However, the calf injury is very difficult. If he runs hard and the calf tendon gets pulled again, he will be out of the entire tournament. So we tried him early on, during the warm-up match. As per my knowledge, at that time his injury flared up again. Since then he has been working hard to improve his injury, but he suffered another setback, so it is taking longer than we expected.”
Fleming stressed that the final decision on Dhoni’s return will be taken by the players themselves, while the team’s support staff is constantly monitoring his progress. Fleming said, “He is our guide in this matter. He is working hard with the physios and doing all the rehab work. We are just waiting for his next update, but all I can say is stop taking it lightly, because he is getting better and trying his best.”
Despite being out of the initial matches of IPL 2026, Dhoni is continuously participating in the practice sessions. He is often seen working on his batting in the nets, focusing mostly on ‘throw-downs’ (balls bowled by the bowling machine or coach). However, in the last few days he has gradually increased his practice load. On Saturday, he was seen running under the supervision of the team physio. After this, he also spent some time facing the balls of spin bowlers and batting coach Michael Hussey.
The former CSK captain was also seen wearing wicket-keeping gloves during the team’s practice session at the Wankhede Stadium, before the match against Mumbai Indians last week.
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