{"id":11187,"date":"2026-05-20T16:12:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T16:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hussey-clarifies-dhonis-thumb-injury-return-possible-only-after-ipl-2026-qualify"},"modified":"2026-05-20T16:12:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T16:12:38","slug":"hussey-clarifies-dhonis-thumb-injury-return-possible-only-after-ipl-2026-qualify","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hussey-clarifies-dhonis-thumb-injury-return-possible-only-after-ipl-2026-qualify","title":{"rendered":"Hussey Clarifies Dhoni\u2019s Thumb Injury: Return Possible Only After IPL 2026 Qualify"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Chennai Super Kings will take on Gujarat Titans in their last league-stage outing, and batting coach Michael Hussey has addressed the big question around MS Dhoni\u2019s fitness. Hussey said Dhoni is currently unavailable because of a thumb injury, adding that he could be back with the squad only if CSK manage to secure qualification for the playoffs.<\/p>\n<h3>Quick facts<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>CSK\u2019s final league match is against Gujarat Titans (GT).<\/li>\n<li>MS Dhoni is ruled out for the game due to a thumb injury.<\/li>\n<li>Hussey indicated Dhoni could return if CSK qualify for the playoffs.<\/li>\n<li>Gujarat Titans are placed second in the points table.<\/li>\n<li>CSK\u2019s win would take them to 14 points.<\/li>\n<li>After that, CSK would still need other results to go their way to reach the playoffs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Following a disappointing result against Sunrisers Hyderabad, CSK head into the Ahmedabad contest with a \u201cmust-win\u201d scenario. Gujarat sit in the second position in the standings, raising the stakes for CSK to produce a turnaround performance and keep their postseason hopes alive.<\/p>\n<p>At the post-match press conference, Hussey gave a direct update on Dhoni\u2019s status. \u201cI can confirm he is not with the team right now,\u201d he said, noting that the thumb issue is recovering well, but the wicketkeeper-batter would not be fit for this particular match.<\/p>\n<p>Hussey also explained the conditional nature of Dhoni\u2019s return. If CSK do qualify for the playoffs, Dhoni is expected to rejoin the group, provided the recovery progresses as planned.<\/p>\n<h3>Learning from the SRH loss<\/h3>\n<p>Hussey then looked back at CSK\u2019s previous match against SRH, where the chasing side successfully knocked down a target of 181. He referenced Ishan Kishan\u2019s standout fifty as a key factor in the outcome, while acknowledging that CSK were left disappointed after failing to finish their home campaign on a high.<\/p>\n<p>While admitting the setback has made the route to the top four tougher, Hussey said the team will extract lessons and move forward quickly. \u201cObviously, it has made it more difficult for us to get through to the top four,\u201d he said, emphasising that individual takeaways would be part of the response as they shift focus to the final fixture.<\/p>\n<p>He added that the dressing room mood after the defeat was flat, but the team was urged to refocus immediately. The message was clear: there is one more game and one more chance, so CSK must not dwell and instead channel their attitude into the next challenge.<\/p>\n<p>In his closing remarks, Hussey said the team\u2019s attention is now fixed on delivering the \u201cbest possible performance\u201d in Ahmedabad. With a positive and confident approach, he believes CSK can stay together, maintain their smiles, and put in the kind of effort required to keep their playoff hopes in play.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chennai Super Kings will take on Gujarat Titans in their last league-stage outing, and batting coach Michael Hussey has addressed the big question around MS&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11186,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"MS Dhoni Thumb Injury Update: Hussey on IPL 2026 Return","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Michael Hussey confirms MS Dhoni\u2019s thumb injury sidelines him for CSK\u2019s last league game\u2014possible return only if IPL 2026 playoffs qualification is secured.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>MS Dhoni Thumb Injury Update: Hussey on IPL 2026 Return<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Michael Hussey confirms MS Dhoni\u2019s thumb injury sidelines him for CSK\u2019s last league game\u2014possible return only if IPL 2026 playoffs qualification is secured.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/hussey-clarifies-dhonis-thumb-injury-return-possible-only-after-ipl-2026-qualify\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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