Why will Dhoni skip the first two weeks of IPL 2026? CSK answer

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the heart and soul of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise, will not be available for the first two weeks of action in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The news was confirmed by CSK in a social media post.

“MS Dhoni is currently undergoing rehabilitation for a calf strain. As a result, he is likely to miss the first two weeks of TATA IPL 2026,” CSK wrote on their X (formerly Twitter) handle.

This is one of the rarest occasions where Dhoni has had to miss matches due to injury. Known as an injury-free cricketer, Dhoni is the leading wicket-keeper in IPL history despite being 44 years old.

Samson most likely to keep wickets for CSK

Now that Dhoni has been ruled out for the first two weeks, Sanju Samson will most likely keep wickets for the Men in Yellow. The former Rajasthan Royals skipper was traded to CSK as they let go of Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran to acquire the services of the “Darling Boy from Kerala.”

How many times has Dhoni been ruled out due to injury?

It was in the IPL 2019 season that Dhoni missed a game against Sunrisers Hyderabad due to a back spasm. This was highly notable at the time because it was the first time since 2010 that he had missed a match for CSK.

Since then, he has had knee surgery, but has not missed a game due to that. Thus, it is going to be one of the rarest instances where MSD will have to miss games due to injury.

DHONI VS. INJURY: A RARE STATISTIC

Dhoni is renowned for his “Iron Man” fitness. This calf strain marks only the second major injury-forced absence in over 15 years for CSK.

CSK’S “NO-DHONI” SCHEDULE

Based on the official two-week rehab timeline, Dhoni is expected to sit out:

• March 30: vs Rajasthan Royals (Guwahati)
• April 03: vs Punjab Kings (Chennai)
• April 05: vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Bengaluru)
• April 11: vs Delhi Capitals (Chennai)
• April 18: Potential Return Date (vs SRH at Hyderabad)