Former Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni was seen hitting towering shots in the net practice session. The former India captain, who is currently sidelined with a calf injury, sweated it out and resumed his batting training as the side gears up for the upcoming clash against SunRisers Hyderabad. Both teams will be up against each other on Saturday, April 17 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. 

Dhoni, who is yet to make his season debut due to a calf injury, arrived in Hyderabad with the team on Thursday, amidst speculations whether he would debut on Saturday or not. While a few reports suggested that Dhoni would make his debut against the Orange Army, others refuted those claims. However, amidst all the speculations and rumors, Dhoni was seen practicing batting, smashing sixes, indicating that the day is near when he would step in on the ground.

The video was posted by the official page of Chennai Super Kings, alongside the caption, “𝐈𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞!”

When will MS Dhoni make his IPL 2026 debut? 

As stated, earlier there were rumors that Dhoni is highly likely to play his first game of the 2026 season against the SunRisers Hyderabad. However, per the latest developments, though the five-time IPL winning captain has travelled to Hyderabad, there are chances that he wouldn’t make his debut during the game. In fact, a few sources suggest that Dhoni’s debut could come during CSK’s clash against the Mumbai Indians or Gujarat Titans on 23rd April and 26th April, respectively. 

It is to be noted that the Yellow Army is currently seeded eighth in the standings with four points, owing to the consecutive wins against Delhi Capitals and the Kolkata Knight Riders. Now that they are finally on their winning momentum, the CSK would aim to continue their winning streak and record more wins in order to move up in the standings.