IPL 2026, CSK vs MI Today Match: Chennai Super Kings are once again without MS Dhoni for match 44 of the Indian Premier League 2026 against Mumbai Indians at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday, May 2, 2026. The 44-year-old wicketkeeper-batter had initially been ruled out ahead of the season and suffered a further setback after aggravating the injury during a pre-season warm-up.
Although Dhoni has been actively training and gradually increasing his workload in the nets, he has not yet received medical clearance to return to match action.
Earlier, CSK batting coach Michael Hussey said Dhoni is recovering well but will return only when he feels fully ready. “Once he feels confident in his calf, I’m sure he’ll give the signal that he’s ready to go. At the moment, we’re guided by him. We’re waiting. I think all of Chennai is waiting,” he said.
Toss Update
Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to bat first against Chennai Super Kings.
MI have handed a debut to leg-spinner Raghu Sharma, while Krish Bhagat returns to the playing XI. CSK made two changes, bringing in Ramakrishna Ghosh for Gurjapneet Singh and Prashant Veer in place of Akeal Hosein.
Playing XIs
Chennai Super Kings: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Urvil Patel, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Prashant Veer, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary
Mumbai Indians: Will Jacks, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Naman Dhir, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Robin Minz, Trent Boult, Krish Bhagat, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar
Impact Substitutes:
Mumbai Indians Impact Subs: Raj Bawa, Raghu Sharma, Mayank Rawat, Shardul Thakur, Ashwani Kumar
Chennai Super Kings Impact Subs: Kartik Sharma, Akeal Hosein, Sarfaraz Khan, Matthew Short, Gurjapneet Singh
Pitch Report
The pitch is a fresh black-soil surface with some early assistance expected for bowlers. Teams may look to take advantage of early movement before conditions settle.
The match is expected to be crucial for both sides as they look to stay in contention in IPL 2026.
