Chennai Super Kings’ first match is against Rajasthan Royals on Monday. After this, the team has to face Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals in the first two weeks. Dhoni’s absence in such important matches can become a challenge for the team.

Dhoni will not play the initial matches of IPL
Sanju Samson is considered to be the frontrunner to take over the responsibility of wicketkeeping when Dhoni is out. Samson has recently joined Chennai Super Kings from Rajasthan Royals and he can also open the innings with captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. Apart from this, the team also has the options of Urvil Patel and new player Karthik Sharma.

Karthik Sharma can do wicketkeeping
Chennai Super Kings have made a huge bid of Rs 14.20 crore on Karthik Sharma for this season. He was included in the team due to his aggressive batting and long sixes in domestic cricket. Whereas Urvil Patel has been retained on the basis of his performance in the last season.

Dhoni played 14 matches last season
If we talk about the last season, Dhoni played all 14 matches in 2025. Batting lower down the order, he scored 196 runs in 13 innings, his strike rate was 135.17 and his highest score was 30 not out.

Nathan Ellis is already out of the tournament
This injury blow for CSK is not limited to this. The team’s Australian fast bowler Nathan Ellis has already been ruled out of the entire tournament due to a hamstring injury. Spencer Johnson has been included in the team in his place.

In the fast bowling department, along with Matt Henry, bowlers like Khalil Ahmed, Gurjapaneet Singh, Jack Foulkes, Anshul Kamboj, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Jamie Overton and Mukesh Chaudhary are present. Whereas Shivam Dubey will play the role of all-rounder.

Last season, Chennai’s performance was disappointing and the team finished at the bottom of the points table with just 4 wins. In such a situation, this time the team would like to start better, but Dhoni’s absence can have a big impact in the initial matches.

CSK’s probable best XII: 1 Sanju Samson (wk), 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), 3 Ayush Mhatre/Urvil Patel/Sarfaraz Khan, 4 Shivam Dubey, 5 Dewald Brewis*, 6 Karthik Sharma, 7 Prashant Veer, 8 Jamie Overton*/Akeal Hosein*, 9 Matt Henry*, 10 Noor Ahmed*, 11 Khaleel Ahmed, 12 Anshul Kamboj/Ramakrishna Ghosh