MS Dhoni's Return Date All But Set, CSK Great May Play At A Venue Where He Led India To A Great Triumph
Just before IPL 2026 began, MS Dhoni was ruled out for two weeks due to a calf strain
Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will, in all probability, make his much-anticipated return to the side on April 23 against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. Just before IPL 2026 began, Dhoni was ruled out for two weeks due to a calf strain. Since then, CSK have gone through a lot. They started IPL 2026 with losses but have regained form and won two back-to-back matches at home. CSK's next match is on Saturday against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad.
According to a report in The Indian Express, quoting CSK sources, Dhoni's first match could be at the venue where he led India to their famous 2011 World Cup win - the Wankhede Stadium. The star is getting close to regaining full fitness.
Meanwhile, spinner Noor Ahmad's match-winning spell against Kolkata Knight Riders followed a lengthy conversation with Chennai Super Kings icon MS Dhoni in the nets. The left-arm wrist spinner from Afghanistan ended with figures of three for 21 in four overs, accounting for the wickets of Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh and Cameron Green in the middle overs to set up CSK's 32-run win.
Until Monday night, Noor was yet to make an impact in the ongoing tournament, having taken just a solitary wicket in four games.
On a pitch offering little help, Noor was able to get on top of the batters. He got rid of Green with a quicker one into the stumps that the Australian failed to connect with.
CSK assistant coach Sridharan Sriram spoke about the work Noor had put in heading into the game and the chat with Dhoni, who has not been in action yet this season due to a calf strain.
"I think it was good - the wicket helped today. There was a little bit of boredom for him earlier. The other wickets were quite flat. Today, he was a little bit slower through the air. There was more sidespin on the ball, and there was more drop. That's something he's been working on.
"Even MS had a long chat with him during one of the practice sessions, getting him to bowl more leg-breaks. I think it was very helpful today, and the results were there to show," Sriram said at the post-match press conference.
Sriram stressed the importance of getting deviation off the pitch for spinners.
"I think being able to get some deviation off the surface is very important. That is what he's been working on. Everybody accepts there are going to be days when the wickets are going to be very flat.
"But still looking to be aggressive, putting revs on the ball and getting it to spin will definitely help him a lot, and that's where you can induce mistakes. Because once you start to get defensive, the batters are going to get on top of you," he said.
Sriram also touched upon the chemistry between West Indies spinner Akeal Hosein and Noor.
"I think they complement each other very well. They communicate well and have good camaraderie. Today, actually, Akeal was the one who went and told Noor about the exact length - that in-between length he needed to bowl.
"In his first over, it was either a bit short or a touch full. But once he found that in-between length, Noor was relatively unplayable. Credit to Akeal as well, because I was part of that conversation during the strategic timeout where Akeal spoke about that length where the ball was just holding enough.
"And hitting down the ground was not that easy," Sriram added.
MS Dhoni
Chennai Super Kings