MS Dhoni’s calf has had the final say once again. The Chennai Super Kings legend hit a few under‐lights throwdowns at Chepauk on Monday evening, yet there is still no firm word on whether he will face Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday.
The facts first, then the colour. CSK announced on 28 March that Dhoni was “likely to miss the first two weeks” of IPL 2026 while he completed rehab. A fortnight has passed, four matches have come and gone, and the 44-year-old has not played a ball. He has also skipped the two away trips, choosing instead to work one-to-one with the medical team in Chennai.
At training on Monday he batted for barely ten minutes. Mike Hussey, the batting coach, provided gentle throwdowns; an occasional short ball leapt from the practice strip and thudded into the splice, but anything in the slot disappeared towards the mid-wicket boundary. A final swing sent a white Kookaburra sailing into the ‘J’ stand, cue for stumps after three hours under the floodlights. There was no wicket-keeping drill, no sprint work, no suggestion that full tilt is imminent.
Head coach Stephen Fleming insists Dhoni’s imprint remains. “Heavily involved in the side and his influence in the side is very strong,” Fleming said at the first press conference of the season. Sanju Samson, traded from Rajasthan, has stood in behind the stumps, while England all-rounder Jamie Overton has taken the late-innings licence, with mixed returns.
The franchise do have cover. Young Rajasthan keeper Kartik Sharma cost INR 14.2 crore at December’s mini-auction and is on standby, as is Gujarat gloveman Urvil Patel. Neither has yet been required.
There is, of course, the question of Dhoni’s changing role. In 2023 he faced just 57 balls all season, striking at 182. Twelve months later it was 73 balls at 221. Last year the volume jumped to 145 deliveries; the strike rate dipped to 135 and the old legs looked, well, 44. CSK’s brains-trust have no wish to repeat that workload. Short, sharp cameos — ten or a dozen balls, pure power — remain the plan, provided the calf co-operates.
While Dhoni nurses muscle fibres, CSK are also waiting on left-arm quick Spencer Johnson, signed as a replacement for Nathan Ellis (back). Johnson himself is easing back from a back twinge and is pencilled in to join the squad around 21-23 April. His South Australia coach, Ryan Harris, offered a cautious thumbs-up last week, saying the seamer “has resumed bowling and is building up his loads.”
Bowling coach Eric Simons sounded equally measured after Saturday’s victory over Delhi. “I mean to have someone like him with his pace and great skills is an important one, [but] we’re not sure how much of a role he’ll play this year,” Simons said. “But that’s fine, he’s a fantastic acquisition to us. For me, I have not worked with him specifically, but I’ve watched him and it’s very clear that he…” Simons’ sentence drifted away, rather neatly mirroring the uncertainty that hangs over Johnson’s campaign.
KKR arrive in Chennai buoyed by early-season momentum and a seam attack that likes the new ball to nip. For the home side, the equation is simple: a fit Dhoni deepens the batting, lifts the crowd and buys Samson freedom. An unfit Dhoni keeps the physio busy and the bench guessing.
Either way, Chepauk will fill, the yellow flags will flutter and the stadium DJ will still queue up “Dhoni, Dhoni” at full volume. The question, as ever, is whether the man himself emerges from the tunnel or watches on in civvies, plotting a quieter, later intervention.
