New Delhi: Defending champions Royal Challengers Bangalore started the 2026 IPL season with a high level of confidence as they defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Now, RCB and chennai super kings Coming up – there’s no doubt it’s a huge conflict.RCB enters the match with a win, while CSK has suffered two consecutive losses, against Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab.Is CSK missing Mahendra Singh Dhoni? Has his absence hurt the team after losing the first two games?Dhoni’s wait will continue. He will also not feature in the match against RCB.
Why MS Dhoni Won’t you play against RCB?
Dhoni has missed the first two weeks of the tournament due to a calf strain.“MS Dhoni is currently undergoing rehabilitation from a calf strain. Hence, he is likely to miss the first two weeks of IPL 2026. Get well soon, Tara,” CSK shared on social media ahead of the first match against Rajasthan Royals.Head coach Stephen Fleming had earlier made it clear that although Dhoni is not on the field, his presence is still strongly felt. Fleming spoke of Dhoni’s “significant” influence and involvement in the team.“It’s just a game without him. He’s still heavily involved in the team and his influence is still very strong,” Fleming told reporters before the Kings XI Punjab game.Squad:Chennai Super Kings: Sanju Samson (women), Ruturaj Gaikwad (centre), Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Matt Henry, Khaleel Ahmed, Jamie Overton, Rahul Chahar, Matthew Short, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Gurjapneet Singh, Akeal Hosein, MS Dhoni, Shreyas Gopal, Spencer Johnson, Mukesh Choudhary, Urvil Patel, Aman Khan, Dewald Brevis. Zachary FoxRoyal Challengers Bangalore: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma, Jacob Bethell, Rasikh Salam Dar, Kanishk Chouhan, Venkatesh Iyer, Josh Hazlewood, Mangesh Yadav, Vihaan Malhotra, Vicky Ostwal, Jordan Cox, Swapnil Singh, Satvik Deswal.
