IPL 2026: MS Dhoni ‘steadily improving’ but hasn’t travelled to New Delhi, says Eric Simons

NEW DELHI: Veteran wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni is steadily recovering from a calf injury, but Chennai Super Kings bowling consultant Eric Simons confirmed that he has not travelled with the squad to New Delhi for their upcoming IPL 2026 clash against Delhi Capitals, to be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday.

“An update on MS Dhoni is way above my pay grade. He is not with us but steadily improving. He will be ready when he is ready and he knows when he is ready to play. No, he hasn’t travelled with the team,” Simons said in the pre-match press conference.

Dhoni hasn’t featured in a single game this season, with his last IPL appearance coming against Gujarat Titans on May 25 in the 2025 edition. Five-time champions CSK, meanwhile, sit at sixth place on the points table with four wins from nine games.

The equation is straightforward for CSK - they need at least four more victories from their remaining fixtures to stay in the hunt for the playoffs. A positive thing for CSK has been that skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad was among the runs in the past two games via unbeaten knocks of 74 and 67 respectively.

Describing Gaikwad as a ‘surgeon in this world of chaos batting,’ Simons noted that the right-handed opener has found his rhythm again. “We have been clear about the leadership group and he’s clearly the leader of the team. It was just again a case of when he gets his runs. He has had some tough innings in the sense that we have been in trouble.