IPL 2026: CSK elect to bowl against SRH, SL star replaces Madushanka; Know playing XIs

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won the toss and decided to bowl first against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 clash on Rajiv Gandhi International stadium April 18.

What did the captains say at the toss?

CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, after winning the toss, said:

"Ruturaj Gaikwad: It's good to be up from the bottom, definitely. But I think from the second game, we started doing basic things right. Our batting was good, our bowling was good, our fielding has been 50-50. But I think in all departments, we have been doing really well. And the key today is to just stay consistent and just do the basic things right. (Good to see different players perform?) Yes, obviously, last game I felt, Noor bowled really well. Good to have him back on track and definitely, even in the death, Anshul bowled really well. So a couple of guys stepping up in the bowling helps a lot. It gives me a lot of confidence and the team a lot of confidence. So, really looking forward to it. (What do you make of the surface?) In your language, it looks like abelter, but you never know how it will be. We'll look to assess it as soon as possible and, you know, look to restrict them as low as possible."

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Meanwhile, SRH skipper Ishan Kishan, after losing the toss, said:

"I think we would have batted first, batting here. I think it looks like a pretty good track to me. Giving up a good total, that was the plan of our team. So nothing to worry at all. (Batting first you can put pressure on them and that's your strength) 100%, I think the plan of us batting the first thing is always we have to bat for the team, not to look at individual performances. If the ball is there from ball one, you have to just go for it and that's it. That has worked pretty well for us. So, we look to do the same thing again and again, being in a very good headspace throughout the tournament. (Important game because both teams are on 4 points) Yeah, I know. I think we just have to take the game by game. It doesn't matter where we are in the table right now. It's a long tournament. We have to play so many more games. So, it's just about keeping your plans and just being in a good headspace so that we can perform in a very good manner. I think the ball is going to move a bit in the beginning, but still I think batters, they need to be watchful of the ball and they have to plan accordingly where the shot options are open. But at the same time, it's just about watching the ball and playing your best game possible. So, we have to keep it simple and I think we always look to do the same thing. (Changes?) Madushanka comes in in place of Harsh Dubey. So we get a little bit of more swinging options there up front. That is the plan.."

Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI):

Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(c), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora(w), Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivang Kumar, Praful Hinge, Sakib Hussain, Eshan Malinga

SRH Impact Subs: Smaran Ravichandran, Harsh Dubey, Liam Livingstone, Dilshan Madushanka, Harshal Patel

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Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI):

Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Dewald Brevis, Jamie Overton, Matthew Short, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh

CSK Impact Subs: Ayush Mhatre, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Matt Henry

SRH vs CSK Head-to-Head

SRH and CSK have locked horns with each other on 22 times in IPL so far. While CSK have emerged victorious 15 times, SRH have notched 7 wins.