Why MS Dhoni Not Playing Today: Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings are clashing in the 7th match of IPL 2026 tournament. Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl first. But at the time of the toss, everyone’s eyes were on CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, because everyone wanted to know whether Dhoni will play today’s match or not.

Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad told that there has been a change in his team. Prashant Veer has been included in the playing eleven in place of Matthew Short. But MS Dhoni will not play in this match. Dhoni did not even play the first match against Rajasthan Royals. Know here why Dhoni is not playing in the match against Punjab Kings today.

Why is MS Dhoni not playing?

Former Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni was injured while practicing before the start of IPL 2026. CSK had issued an official statement saying that Dhoni has suffered a calf injury, due to which he may stay away from action for at least 2 weeks. Due to this injury, MS Dhoni is not playing in the Chennai Super Kings vs Punjab Kings match today.

MS Dhoni played his last match in IPL till now on 25 May 2025. Dhoni has not yet got the opportunity to play in IPL 2026. He could not even play in the match against Rajasthan Royals.

CSK hopes for better performance

Chennai Super Kings had to face a big defeat against Rajasthan Royals in the first match. From Sanju Samson to Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shivam Dubey were also flops, as a result the entire team was reduced to 127 runs. When it came to defending the small score, Rajasthan Royals chased the target in just 12.1 overs.

Will MS Dhoni Play Today: Chennai Super Kings will clash with Punjab Kings today. This seventh match of the IPL 2026 tournament will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Before the start of the match, every CSK fan would be curious to know whether MS Dhoni will be seen in the field today or not. Dhoni could not even play the match with Rajasthan Royals due to injury.

MS Dhoni was injured during practice about a week ago. In his absence, Sanju Samson took up the responsibility of wicketkeeping against Rajasthan. The good news is that Dhoni has started practicing again, but the big question is whether Dhoni will be seen in action against Punjab Kings at Chepauk Stadium today or not.

Will Dhoni play today or not?

Last week on Saturday, Chennai Super Kings had issued an official statement saying that Dhoni is currently going through the rehabilitation process due to calf (shin) injury. The statement revealed that Dhoni will not be seen playing any match in IPL 2026 for the first 2 weeks.

Dhoni is not completely fit

On the other hand, when Chennai Super Kings team came to the field to practice for the match against Punjab Kings, MS Dhoni was seen practicing big hits and doing fitness practice. He did not practice wicketkeeping, instead Sanju Samson was seen sweating behind the stumps. This indicates that Dhoni is not completely fit to play the match right now.

In the first match, Chennai Super Kings flopped badly not only in batting but also in bowling. The bowlers of Rajasthan Royals had bundled out the entire CSK team for 127 runs. Against Chennai’s bowling, Rajasthan team had chased the target of 128 runs in 47 balls. Obviously Chennai Super Kings will have to perform better in every area in today’s match.

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