Published on: May 5, 2026 4:10 pm IST|Updated on: May 5, 2026 4:51 pm IST
The Delhi Capitals are all set to host the 5-time champions, the Chennai Super Kings, in match 48 of the Tata IPL 2026 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Both CSK and DC are sailing on the same ship with 4 wins and 5 losses from 9 games and are placed in the sixth and seventh spots on the points table, respectively. With the season approaching its business end and the race to the playoffs intensifying, both DC and CSK are still in contention to finish among the top four, and to do so, a win in this game will only improve the winning side’s position on the points table and take them one step further in the playoff race.
Ahead of this all-important clash, one question that is bothering every CSK fan is whether their veteran superstar MS Dhoni is available for this fixture. The answer to this question is ‘no.’ The former CSK skipper is still rehabilitating his calf and still isn’t match-ready. Therefore, he opted to stay back in Chennai and not travel with the team in this contest.
MS Dhoni is yet to play a game in the Tata IPL 2026. A calf injury has kept him sidelined for the entire season, and the franchise is yet to issue a robust update on his injury. The 44-year-old was close to returning, but a recurring calf injury made his road to return tougher. CSK’s head coach gave the latest on MS Dhoni’s condition, stating,
“The calf is a tough one. If he takes off and rips the calf again, then he will be gone [for the whole season]. So we pushed it early. In a warm-up game, he tweaked it again, is my understanding. And since then, he has been just working hard to get some movement into it. But there was a setback,” Fleming was quoted as saying on ESPNcricinfo.
The game against the Capitals would be Dhoni’s 10th straight game where he won’t be a part of CSK’s playing 11 in this season of the Tata IPL. Dhoni, who only plays in the IPL, last played competitive cricket against the Gujarat Titans on May 25, 2025, almost a year ago.
The 5-time champions Chennai Super Kings have had mixed results so far this season in the Tata IPL. The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side kicked off the season in a terrible manner, losing three games on the trot. Their first win of the season came at home against the Delhi Capitals in the reverse fixture by 23 runs.
They then went on to win the next game as well against the Kolkata Knight Riders by 32 runs at home. In the next four games, CSK secured twin wins over their fellow 5-time champions and arch-rivals Mumbai Indians, both away and at home. Amidst two wins, CSK succumbed to two losses as well, against the 2016 champions Sunrisers Hyderabad by 10 runs and against the 2022 champions Gujarat Titans by 8 wickets. Both these losses came away from home for the Super Kings.
Check out the best possible for the Chennai Super Kings for their game against the Delhi Capitals tonight at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
Best Possible Playing 11: Sanju Samson (WK), Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Urvil Patel, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Prashant Veer, Jamie Overton, Akeal Hosein/Akash Madhwal, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary IMPACT SUB: Kartik Sharma
Tags: IPL 2026