MS Dhoni Not Part Of Chennai Super Kings CSK Playing XI In IPL 2026 Clash Against Rajasthan Royals RR. This Is The Reason

MS Dhoni was not part of the playing XI as Chennai Super Kings faced Rajasthan Royals in their opening match of IPL 2026 at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati on Monday. Dhoni is likely to miss the first two weeks of the competition due to a calf strain. He is currently undergoing rehabilitation, but his past problems with knee injuries mean that the franchise will be quite concerned about the veteran's fitness. South African star Dewald Brevis also missed the match due to a side strain. "He is rehabbing and hopefully won't be out for too long," head coach Stephen Fleming said on the eve of the encounter. Coming to the match, Rajasthan Royals skipper Riyan Parag won the toss and opted to field against Chennai Super Kings.

CSK's match against RR will mark the first-time ever that the iconic Yellow franchise will take to the field without either of their two icons, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni. CSK's IPL 2026 campaign opener will be start of a new era of sorts for CSK.

The Ruturaj Gaikwad captained side, with wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson being another marquee name in the squad, will witness several exciting, young, explosive talents taking to the field. However, the squad will have neither Raina, who retired from all formats of cricket in 2022, nor Dhoni, who will miss the first two weeks of the ongoing season due to a calf strain.

The five-time IPL champions have played 277 matches in franchise cricket, 253 in the IPL and 24 matches in now-defunct Champions League T20 tournament. Throughout these 277 matches, the franchise had either Raina or Dhoni and most of the time, both together in their playing XI.

While Raina last played the IPL in the 2021 season before calling time on his cricketing career, Dhoni continued entertaining fans in a new avatar: A lower-order finisher tasked with hitting as many fours and sixes as possible within the death overs phase of the inning.

In 278 matches, Dhoni has made 5,439 runs in 242 innings at an average of 38.30 and a strike rate of 137.45, including 24 fifties and a best score of 84*. He is the sixth-highest run-getter in the tournament history.

In last season's wooden spoon finish, Dhoni scored 196 runs in 13 innings at an average of 24.50 and a strike rate of over 135, with a best score of 30*. Raina is the fifth-highest run-getter in the tournament history, with 5,528 runs in 205 matches and 200 innings at an average of 32.51, a strike rate of 136.73, including a century and 39 fifties.

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