The CSK franchise, for the first time in the history of the IPL, would play a game without both its legendary stars, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni. While the former has retired from the IPL, the wicketkeeper is currently injured and has not recovered from an injury.
The Chennai Super Kings will be led by Ruturaj Gaikwad this season. This would mark his third season as the skipper of the team; however, citing his injury-prone status has pushed the Super Kings to consider a likely backup in Sanju Samson. Samson formerly led the Rajasthan Royals as their skipper until IPL 2025.
The CSK scouts have always been doing some wonderful work in the IPL. They have picked many bright stars of Indian cricket, and now have a quality bunch of cricketers who might be the next generation of superstars for India, which includes players like Ayush Mhatre from 2025 and Prashant Veer from 2026.
For the first time, when the Chennai Super Kings were formed at the start of the IPL back in the inaugural season of the IPL in 2008, two players were considered the face of the team. Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni are the two Indian batters.
While the likes of Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Muttiah Muralidharan, Doug Bollinger, Albie Morkel, and Shane Watson have featured in the IPL for the Super Kings, these two Indian greats have always remained as the 'Thala' and 'Chinna Thala' in the hearts of CSK fans.
This season will be the first time that they will be without these two Indian legends. While Raina has retired from the format, Dhoni will not be available at the start of the season.
No Dhoni. No Raina.For the first time ever, CSK will play without either in the side.#IPL2026 #cricbuzz #CricketKaAsliApp pic.twitter.com/hB9gkCntx1
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) March 28, 2026Why will MS Dhoni not start for CSK in IPL 2026?
MS Dhoni will not be able to start for the Chennai Super Kings this season. The Indian former captain announced that he would be part of this IPL as well; however, the CSK management also claimed that his availability would be subject to fitness.
MS Dhoni had picked up a massive injury, as his calf injury ruled him out of the competition. Due to this injury, he will be ruled out of the starting phase of the competition. He will be out of action for nearly the first two weeks in IPL 2026.
Chennai Super Kings will kickstart their campaign against the Rajasthan Royals in the third match of the IPL. They will kickstart their campaign at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. They will also have the likes of Sanju Samson, Urvil Patel, and Kartik Sharma as the three replacement keepers in the side.
Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni's IPL stats
Over the years, MS Dhoni has been one of the most veteran players in the IPL. He has appeared in over 278 matches for them and has a unique record of finishing unbeaten in over 100 innings.
The batter has amassed 5439 runs at an average of 38.30 and a strike rate of nearly 138. The legendary batter is the highest run-scorer for the Chennai Super Kings. Suresh Raina has appeared in over 200 IPL matches and has amassed 5528 runs.
Raina is the second-highest run-getter in IPL history for the CSK side. He had also amassed 841 runs in the two seasons he played for the Gujarat Lions. Dhoni also played those two seasons in 2016-17 for the Rising Pune Supergiants, as he managed to score just 576 runs.
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