The question of whether Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni will be fit for Thursday’s match will remain open until the toss, with both franchises waiting for medical clearance. Their respective teams have been monitoring their progress, and as of Wednesday evening there has been no final call on whether either veteran will take the field.
Key takeaways
- Rohit Sharma (hamstring) and MS Dhoni (calf) are still under injury management ahead of Thursday’s toss.
- Both players trained at Wankhede Stadium nets on Wednesday evening, with simultaneous sessions run by MI and CSK.
- Dhoni has not yet played in IPL 2026, while Rohit missed MI’s previous two matches.
- CSK must adjust their batting plan because Ayush Mhatre, their top scorer this season, is ruled out for the remainder of the campaign with a hamstring injury.
- MI sit with two wins from six matches after ending a four-game losing streak against Gujarat Titans on Monday; CSK are also in the lower half after a mixed start.
Both veterans take part in nets as fitness questions linger
Rohit and Dhoni are both working their way back from injuries, and their availability will only be confirmed close to toss time. On Wednesday evening, both sides were on the field at Wankhede Stadium with training running at the same time, and the two injured players batted in the nets during their respective sessions.
Dhoni was the first of the two to begin his work on Wednesday. He started with a short period of light running alongside CSK physio Tommy Simsek, then stepped away to observe his team-mates bat. After that, he moved into his batting routine, beginning with tennis-ball hitting just beyond the net before stepping inside to face pace from Spencer Johnson, Mukesh Choudhary, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Aman Khan and Zak Foulkes.
His net session lasted for roughly 20 minutes before he took another break. He then wrapped up the evening with throwdowns, some of which he struck hard enough to send beyond the boundary rope.
Dhoni’s preparation has also included wicketkeeping work earlier in the week. On Tuesday evening, he kept wickets, and his travel to Mumbai marked his second consecutive away trip with the CSK squad.
Rohit’s session followed a similar fitness pattern, beginning with light running before he padded up for batting. However, the nature of his workload differed from Dhoni’s: Rohit only faced throwdowns, with deliveries coming from both right-arm and left-arm sources, and he did not attempt an extended run of big hitting during his approximately 25-minute stint.
CSK face a selection headache regardless of Dhoni’s status
Even if Dhoni is declared fit for Thursday, CSK will still need to make a batting change because Ayush Mhatre—CSK’s leading run-scorer this season—is ruled out for the rest of the year after sustaining a hamstring injury.
One possible solution for CSK is to bring Gujarat keeper-batter Urvil Patel into the top order. There is also the option of using Dhoni as an Impact Player if he is available, a role CSK have used for Mhatre in the past. In that scenario, the batting order could be adjusted, pushing the batsmen behind openers Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad up one place until Dhoni comes out to bat.
CSK bowling coach Eric Simons highlighted Dhoni’s influence in the dressing room, stressing that the wicketkeeper-batter remains a constant presence even when roles and workloads shift. He described Dhoni as someone the team can always draw on for ideas and tactical input, particularly around late-innings plans.
Where MI and CSK stand in the points race
Both MI and CSK are currently positioned in the lower half of the points table following uneven starts to their campaigns. MI have managed just two wins from six matches, and they ended a four-match losing streak on Monday by beating Gujarat Titans.
CSK’s route to the same points tally has looked different. They began with three losses, then bounced back with two consecutive wins, but their most recent outing ended in defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
