Legendary wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni’s delayed participation for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is the direct result of a setback during his pre-season preparations. In an effort to ready himself for the campaign, the former captain pushed himself intensely during a practice game, which unfortunately aggravated an existing calf injury as confirmed by CSK's head coach Stephen Fleming.
MS Dhoni's IPL 2026 return delayed with aggravated injury
Due to this training mishap, Dhoni was sidelined from the team's active roster at the start of the season. At the time of the diagnosis, the injury was expected to keep him out of contention for at least the first two weeks of the competition.
"The calf is a tough one. If he takes off and rips the calf again, then he will be gone [for the whole season]. So we pushed it early. In a warm-up game, he tweaked it again, is my understanding. And since then, he has been just working hard to get some movement into it. But there was a setback," Fleming said in the post-match press conference following 8-wicket defeat against Gujarat Titans.
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He's working hard with the physio and doing all the rehab: Stephen Fleming
Dhoni has been with CSK since March, and supporters have frequently seen him on social media participating in practice games and net sessions. Despite these visible signs of activity, he has yet to feature in any of CSK's eight matches this season, and he has not even been present at the ground on match days. While the 44-year-old has famously battled through various injuries in previous IPL campaigns to take the field, this latest setback has proven to be much more stubborn. His recovery process is taking significantly longer than the organization initially anticipated, leading to a frustratingly prolonged absence for the legendary cricketer.
"But look, he's the guide on this one. And he's working hard with the physio and doing all the rehab. We're just waiting for the word, really. But all I can keep saying, it's not making light of this, he is progressing and doing everything," Fleming added.