Dhoni's calf goes again: another setback delays his CSK return after Chepauk loss to Gujarat
CSK's home defeat to Gujarat Titans on Sunday was bad enough on its own. Sai Sudharsan walked off with 87 off 46, Kagiso Rabada had taken three for 25 to keep Chennai down to 158 for seven, and Gujarat eased to 162 for two with 20 balls to spare. By the end of the night, though, the bigger story was the man who had not been on the field at all.
MS Dhoni was once again missing from the playing eleven, and after the match Stephen Fleming put the reason on the record. The calf injury that ruled the 44-year-old out before the start of IPL 2026 has flared up again, and the head coach was honest about the risk of pushing it.
"The calf is a tough one though, if he takes off and rips the calf again, then he will be gone," Fleming told reporters at Chepauk. "So we pushed it early, in the warm-up game he tweaked it again, it's my understanding, and since then he has been just working hard to get some movement into it, but there was a setback."
That last word matters. CSK had been working towards a return for Dhoni in the back half of the league stage, and there was an internal hope inside the camp that he might be back this week. Instead, the medical team is now building him up from a fresh strain rather than from match practice.
What it means for Chennai
CSK's next assignment is Mumbai Indians at Chepauk on Saturday, May 2, and that is the next realistic window for Dhoni to be reintroduced. Even that feels optimistic on Fleming's read of things. The calf has been a recurring issue since pre-season, and the coach was clear that any aggressive rehab carries the risk of a more serious tear that ends his season altogether.
The bigger picture is uncomfortable for Chennai. Three wins and five losses from eight, sixth on the table after the Gujarat defeat, and a batting effort on Sunday that leaned almost entirely on Ruturaj Gaikwad. The captain finished unbeaten on 74 off 60 balls, and CSK still only managed 158. Sanju Samson, who has carried so much of their batting this year, fell for 11 to a Rabada outswinger and the lower order never threatened to go big.
Dhoni's absence is a tactical problem as well as a sentimental one. Even at 44, with the keeping gloves and the impact-finisher role, he changes how CSK plan their lower order and how the dugout reads pressure situations. Without him, Gaikwad has been left to do most of the in-game thinking, and CSK have looked one decision short more often than not.
The waiting game
There is no fixed return date. Fleming said as much, and Michael Hussey, speaking earlier in the week, made it clear that when Dhoni does come back it will be as the wicketkeeper rather than as Impact Player. CSK want him in the XI from ball one or not at all.
For now, that means Chennai have to find points without him. Beaten at Chepauk on Sunday, no Dhoni in the dugout, and a coach openly worried that pushing his fitness will end his year. It is not the script anyone in yellow had in mind for the back half of IPL 2026.
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