More than Chennai Super Kings’ spirited revival in the Indian Premier League 2026 or whether they can withstand the challenge of Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, the spotlight ahead of the clash at the MA Chidambaram Stadium revolved entirely around one man — MS Dhoni — and whether the CSK legend would finally make an appearance at the venue.
The 44-year-old has not played a single game this season. Two separate calf injury setbacks ruled him out for the entire campaign — until now, perhaps.
On Monday, just half an hour before the start of CSK’s final home game of the season at Chepauk, Dhoni was spotted boarding the team bus before later entering the iconic venue. He had also trained at the stadium on Sunday for close to 40 minutes, facing throwdowns and spin bowlers before leaving.
Questions still lingered over whether Dhoni would finally play — and if he did, whether it would only be as an Impact Player. Experts remained divided, with some ruling out the possibility while others stayed optimistic after his appearance at the venue.
CSK vs SRH LIVE Score, IPL 2026
Notably, this marked the first time Dhoni had arrived at a stadium on a matchday during IPL 2026, having stayed back in Chennai throughout his rehabilitation period.
Eventually, Ruturaj Gaikwad put an end to the speculation at the toss. There was still no Dhoni in the starting XI, but he did not rule out the possibility of an appearance in Chennai’s final league game.
After winning the toss and opting to bat first against Hyderabad, the CSK captain said: “MS is still here but he is not fit enough to play this game. Hopefully we win this one and you’ll have a low in the last game.”
How can CSK qualify for the playoffs?
For starters, Chennai need to win both their remaining matches, including the final league game against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. But even that may not fully guarantee qualification.
If CSK win both games, they will finish on 16 points and potentially find themselves in a four-way battle for three playoff spots.
If they lose to Hyderabad on Monday, both Sunrisers and Gujarat will qualify for the playoffs. In that scenario, Chennai would have to beat Gujarat in their final match and hope several other results go their way, including defeats for Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders in their remaining fixtures.
Not to forget, CSK would also need convincing victories to improve their net run rate in case qualification comes down to a tie-breaker.
