Dhoni back at full nets but CSK keep the IPL 2026 return on ice
MS Dhoni has not played a single match in IPL 2026, and with CSK on 12 points from 11 games, the question of whether he plays one is no longer a side story. It is the story. Bowling coach Eric Simons confirmed this week that the 44-year-old is close to full fitness and back doing full net sessions. The franchise, though, is still talking about Dhoni in the conditional tense.
The calf, again
Dhoni picked up a calf strain in CSK's pre-season camp back in March and missed the opening two weeks of the tournament. He returned to bat-and-ball sessions soon after, only for the same calf to flare up. It is the through-line of CSK's season: a captain who keeps clearing the early tests and falling at the last one.
Why CSK are not rushing him
Simons was unusually candid when asked for a return date. "Updates on MS Dhoni are way above my pay grade," he said. "He will know when he is ready." That is the kind of line a coach uses when the player has effective veto over his own comeback. Dhoni has been part of the CSK setup since pre-season and is now doing full sessions with the bat, but the franchise is not pencilling him into a specific match. The reasoning is not complicated. A 44-year-old wicketkeeper-batter with a recurring calf issue does not need a half-fit comeback in a dead rubber. He needs to be properly right.
The playoff math says hurry up
That is where the math collides with caution. CSK sit on 12 points after winning six of their last eight games, but with only three group matches left and eight teams still alive in the playoff race, every point matters. The popular calculation is that CSK need two of three to reach the 16-point safety mark. If they fall short, a Chepauk farewell becomes the obvious window. If they win two, the calculation flips: do you risk a half-fit Dhoni in a knockout, or back the in-form line-up that got you there?
What the next two weeks look like
CSK have three group games left to push for a top-four place. Dhoni is back at full nets but has not been added to a matchday XI. The tone out of the camp suggests the call is now match-by-match. If a fixture lines up with his fitness curve and CSK still need the points, he is in. If it does not, the safer answer remains the one CSK have stuck with all season: not yet.
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