CSK, MI leave it late on matchday to decide on Rohit, Dhoni’s selections
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "CSK, MI leave it late on matchday to decide on Rohit, Dhoni’s selections")
CSK, MI leave it late on matchday to decide on Rohit, Dhoni’s selections Photograph: (AFP)
MI vs CSK IPL 2026: Late fitness calls loom for Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni ahead of Wankhede clash. Can Mumbai or Chennai find a rhythm after injury setbacks?
Both the Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will leave it late on the matchday (April 23) to decide on the selections of their respective marquee players, Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni. The uncertainty surrounding their potential comebacks will remain under wraps until the toss time on Thursday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
While Rohit is sidelined with a hamstring injury, MS has yet to feature this season, recovering from a calf strain. The respective team doctors are monitoring the two. However, the two were part of their side’s training sessions at the venue on the match eve, putting in hard yards in the hope of attaining full fitness in time for the game.
After missing CSK’s last six matches, MS Dhoni has travelled with the squad to Mumbai for the second consecutive time, while keeping wickets during Tuesday’s training. The next day, he was the first to hit the nets.
Dhoni began his pre-game training with a few jogs alongside CSK physio Tommy Simsek before taking some time off to watch his teammates having a crack during the practice. Dhoni then geared up for his turn, starting with some tennis-ball knocking before entering the nets to face the pace battery of Spencer Johnson, Mukesh Choudhary, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Aman Khan and Zak Foulkes. He batted for a while, for nearly 20 minutes, before taking a short break and returning to wrap up his evening with some throwdowns, a few of which were sent out of the park.
Meanwhile, CSK would now be making a forced change for their marquee game against Mumbai, with their top run-getter, Ayush Mhatre, out of the remainder of the tournament with a hamstring injury. CSK could bring in Gujarat batter Urvil Patel in his place, or use MS Dhoni as an Impact Sub, if needed.
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"A person like MS never really goes away," CSK bowling coach Eric Simons said of Dhoni's value in the dressing room. "He's always a presence. He's always there. He's always a resource for us. He's always someone we bounce off and get ideas and thoughts about. The tactic that we're using at the death has been something he's given a lot of insights into, a lot of thoughts around as well. He's always there as a resource."
On the other hand, Rohit began his training with light jogs before facing just throwdowns, both right and left arm, without going for too many hits during his brief net session.
On the points table, the two teams are languishing in the second half. While Mumbai is seventh on the table with two wins in four matches, CSK has equal points, but is eighth because of a poorer NRR.
