New Delhi: Fans are eagerly waiting to meet their superstar MS Dhoni in IPL 2026, but the wait continues. When Ruturaj Gaikwad walks out for the toss along with Ajinkya Rahane at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, fans want to hear these words: “MS Dhoni Will play today. “But the announcement was never made.Dhoni was seen batting ahead of CSK’s match against KKR on Monday and is still recovering.KKR Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and chose to play against CSK.“It starts with the bowling. I thought the last game was really good for us. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out the way we wanted. But I think the cricket we played, guys took confidence from the last game. It’s all about starting over. When things don’t go well, it’s important to have that belief, stay positive and get through those little moments in the T20 format is very important. So, now looking forward to the game, we will start the ball well and then look to chase the target,” Rahane said at the toss. “Yeah, absolutely. That knock Mukul had that night was awesome. I mean, it’s going to happen in this format. Like I said, it’s all about belief. You know, everybody worked really hard. It’s important for us to put in the effort, focus on the level of player control and, you know, have that belief in everybody. Like I said, in the last game, that combination worked really well for us. So, yeah, thinking about this game, just trying to be in the game moments. I mean, it’s challenging to find the right balance after a big auction and obviously floating players are going through injuries and players are not available. Tonight, we have only one change. Varun Chakaravarthy is in fine form. He replaced Navdeep Saini,” he said. Gaikwad, on the other hand, did not provide any update on MS Dhoni’s fitness and chose to stick with the same starting XI.“Yes, we will bowl first as well. But like I said, you know, the wickets didn’t change much throughout the game. So there’s not much difference. Definitely it’s going to be challenging to put a big total on the scoreboard in the first innings, but like I said, you know, it looks really good. Yeah, like I said, even after the game, I thought the bowling defense 210 was really good, you know, against a strong DC team. It gave us a lot of confidence, you know, even the defense was energized. We saved some runs and that’s why I think we collectively did a good job,” Gaikwad said. “Today is also very exciting. We have work to do and everyone feels confident. Speaking of the combination today, Ajinkya, I think even in your case, you seem to have the balance right now. Yeah, I think we’re slowly getting it right. You know, Brevis is back and, you know, J&P makes a key shift down the middle. So I think we’re slowly, slowly finding the right mix and it’s just about delivering every game and being consistent. What’s your combination for today’s game? We will move forward with the same team,” he said. CSK have played five matches so far this season, including this one, with Dhoni missing all the games due to a calf strain.On March 28, CSK said Dhoni would miss the first two weeks of the tournament and undergo rehabilitation. Although that period is over, he has yet to return to full game fitness.Dhoni has also not participated in away matches with the team this season.In 278 IPL games, Dhoni scored 5,439 runs in 242 innings at an average of 38.30 and a strike rate of 137.45, including 24 fifties, with a highest score of 84*. He is currently the sixth highest run-scorer in IPL history.Last season, when CSK were at the bottom, he scored 196 runs in 13 innings at an average of 24.50, a strike rate of over 135, and a highest score of 30.Kolkata Knight Riders (XI): Ajinkya Rahane (centre), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (women), Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik TyagiChennai Super Kings (Starting XI): Sanju Samson (women), Ruturaj Gaikwad (centre), Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Dewald Brevis, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Khaleel Ahmed
