Dhoni pulls out of CSK's Lucknow trip at the last minute as the IPL 2026 comeback wait drags on
The CSK squad flew out to Lucknow on Wednesday for their Friday night meeting with LSG, but MS Dhoni was not on the flight. Reports from Cricbuzz and a string of follow-ups on Thursday confirmed that the former captain pulled out of the trip at the last minute, even though CSK had already booked him a ticket on the squad's commercial flight.
For supporters who had let themselves get a little hopeful in the past few days, the message is the same one they have heard since the season started in March. Dhoni's IPL 2026 comeback is still on ice.
Ticket booked, bag packed, then a change of mind
Chennai had been working through the week with the assumption that Dhoni would travel. Earlier reports indicated his name was on the manifest and that he was set to join the rest of the squad for the trip up to Lucknow. The change came late, with Dhoni opting to stay back in Chennai rather than travel with the team.
It is not the first reversal in the saga. The 44-year-old has had two false starts already this campaign. A first calf strain picked up in an intra-squad game before the tournament pushed his start back into the second half of April, and a second tweak during a warm-up reset the clock again. Coach Stephen Fleming has been careful with the language each time, saying the final call rests with Dhoni himself.
CSK head to Lucknow without him in a must-win spot
The timing is awkward for Chennai. After a long, slow start to the season they have crawled back into the playoff picture in the last fortnight and arrive at Ekana with the kind of game that decides a top-four push. The previous meeting between the two sides at Chepauk on May 10 ended with CSK chasing 204 to knock LSG out of the playoff race, with Urvil Patel's record-equalling 13-ball fifty doing most of the work.
That win and the wins that followed have given Chennai room to push for the top four, and just as much room to slip out of it. LSG are already out of the playoff race and playing for pride, which tends to make a home side dangerous rather than easy work. Rishabh Pant's group will want the scalp, and from Chennai's side everyone in yellow knows Dhoni's empty seat in the dugout is the bigger talking point than the team sheet.
What the no-show means for the rest of CSK's season
Dhoni has not featured in any of the eleven matches CSK have played in IPL 2026, and with three group games left including this one, the window for a meaningful contribution is narrowing by the night. He has been training at full intensity at Chepauk on and off through the season, the calf has held up in nets, and yet every time the team flies out the answer has been the same.
The franchise have stopped giving timelines. Fleming made it clear earlier this month that if Dhoni rips the calf again on the run, his season ends there, and that the team would rather have him available for a possible playoff than rush him for a league game. The Lucknow no-show fits that pattern: a fixture that matters enough to win, not the one to risk him on.
For CSK fans, the wait is now down to a handful of possible appearances. If Chennai do get into the top four, the Eliminator and Qualifier nights at the end of May are the ones to circle. If they do not, this might be a season Dhoni watches from the sidelines from start to finish.
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