The IPL 2026 Mumbai Indians (MI) vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fixture is lacking the star power as Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni aren’t part of the playing XIs of their respective teams. Rohit, who has been with MI since 2011, is out of action due to a hamstring injury he suffered against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Dhoni suffered a calf strain before IPL 2026 and hasn’t played a game yet. He was initially ruled out for two weeks. But Dhoni hasn’t yet recovered from the calf strain. Speaking to Ravi Shastri at the toss, CSK captain Ruturraj Gaikwad hinted that Dhoni hasn’t even traveled to the stadium with the team.
A historic first happened at the toss as it’s for the first time that Rohit or Dhoni aren’t part of the MI-CSK fixture. One of them has always been part of the El Clasico of IPL since 2011. But both the former IPL captains are missing this game.
Rohit joined MI in the IPL 2011 mega-auction and has been playing for them since then. MI retained him before the IPL 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2025 mega-auctions. He captained the Mumbai-based franchise from IPL 2013 to 2023.
Rohit captained MI to 5 IPL title wins before being sacked. Under him, MI defeated CSK in the IPL 2013, 2015 and 2019 finals.
Dhoni joined CSK in the 2008 mega-auction. He captained them till 2023. He played for Rising Pune Supergiant when CSK were banned for two years. Dhoni captained the Yellow Army to 5 IPL title wins. Under him, CSK defeated MI in the IPL 2010 final.
Hardik Pandya is the current captain of Mumbai Indians while Ruturaj now leads CSK. Pandya captained Gujarat Titans to a title win in IPL 2022. He returned to MI before IPL 2024.
Mumbai Indians opt to bowl
Mumbai Indians won the toss and opted to bowl first. They didn’t make any changes in their final XI. CSK brought back Prashant Veer in the playing XI.
Here are playing XIs of both teams –
Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Quinton de Kock, Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Sherfane Rutherford, Mitchell Santner, Jasprit Bumrah, Krish Bhagat, AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar.
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain), Sanju Samson, Sarfaraz Khan, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary.
