Home
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is facing Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 clash, which is being played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. At the toss, CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad dropped an update on MS Dhoni's availability in the Yellow Army's final home game.
Ruturaj Gaikwad reveals MS Dhoni's availability status
Before the game against SRH, it was claimed that MS Dhoni might appear in the lineup to mark his maiden appearance of the ongoing season. However, at the toss Ruturaj revealed that Dhoni is present at the venue but has not achieved full fitness to play a game.
Also Read: IPL 2026: CSK put SRH to bat first, suspense over MS Dhoni ends; Playing XIs revealed
ALSO READ: PBKS react to claims of dragging Arshdeep Singh throughout IPL 2026 despite fitness concerns
"He's still here, but he's not fit enough to play this game," said Ruturaj.
Although, Ruturaj has revealed an optimistic theory on Dhoni's first appearance, saying if CSK defeat SRH, they will still have another league game left against Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
"Hopefully we win this one and you'll have a low in the last game. We got just one change. Akeal comes in for Gurjapneet," added Ruturaj.
Big task for CSK
CSK won the toss and opted to bat first in the key game against SRH, as their hopes to reach playoffs rely heavily on the outcome of this game. If CSK win this game, they will stay very much alive in the race to playoffs.
"We are looking to bat first. Well, it's nothing complicated, it's just simple for us. Take it one game at a time, look to win this one, look to start well, look to assess the conditions well and put your best foot forward. (Asking about the pressure in this game) Well, nothing, not as such, it's just that we have to respect conditions and choose what's the best for the conditions. And yes, I think batting first looks good here now," said Ruturaj.
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI):
Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Prashant Veer, Akeal Hosein, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Spencer Johnson
CSK's impact subs: Mukesh Choudhary, Matthew Short, Sarfaraz Khan, Aman Khan, Gurjapneet Singh
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI):
Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Smaran Ravichandran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Praful Hinge
SRH's Impact subs: Travis Head, Liam Livingstone, Aniket Verma, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel
ADVERTISEMENT
