Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], April 19 : Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batting coach Michael Hussey expressed optimism about MS Dhoni's comeback during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season.
The former Indian cricketer is yet to feature in the IPL 2026 as he has been recovering from a calf strain. While the right-hand batter has been having net sessions, it is unclear when he will make a return to CSK's playing 11.
After CSK faced a 10-run loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday, Michael Hussey, speaking at the post-match press conference, said that Dhoni is progressing well in rehab and expressed satisfaction with his batting performance as a coach.
"He's progressing nicely with his rehab. And look, I'm a batting coach, and I'm happy with how he's batting," Hussey said.
Hussey said Dhoni is batting well and is satisfied with his form. Hussey said that Dhoni's main focus of recovery is improving running fitness and speed, especially for quick runs between the wickets in later stages of an innings. Hussey said that he is unsure about the exact return date but hopes Dhoni will be back soon.
"As you saw yesterday at training, he's batting well. He was very happy with where his batting is at. He's just about progressing with his running, because if he's going to bat towards the back end of the innings, he's going to have to scurry back for those twos and things like that. He just needs to get confidence in his running and build that speed up. I don't know when he'll play, but I'm hoping it's sooner rather than later, like all the fans are," the CSK batting coach said.
Coming to the SRH vs CSK match, the Sunrisers edged past CSK by 10 runs in a closely fought encounter.
Batting first, SRH posted 194/9, driven by explosive half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma (59 off 22 balls) and Heinrich Klaasen (59 off 39 balls).
Abhishek provided a blazing start with a record-fast fifty, while Klaasen anchored the innings after early wickets. CSK bowlers Jamie Overton (3/37), Anshul Kamboj (3/22), and Mukesh Choudhary (2/21) helped restrict SRH from crossing the 200-run mark despite a strong platform.
In reply, CSK had moments of control with quick contributions from Ayush Mhatre (30 off 13), Matthew Short (34 off 30), and Sarfaraz Khan (25 off 16).
However, SRH's bowlers, led by Eshan Malinga (3/29) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (2/31), tightened the screws in the middle and death overs. Key breakthroughs at regular intervals halted CSK's momentum, leaving them short despite a late push.
Chasing 195, CSK fell 10 runs short, finishing just behind after failing to accelerate in the final overs, with SRH's disciplined bowling proving decisive.
With the win, SRH climbed to fourth place in the IPL 2026 points table with three wins in six matches, while CSK slipped to seventh with two wins from six games.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
