'Dhoni, where is he?': Shashtri sends Chepauk crowd into frenzy- Watch

NEW DELHI: The ambiance astatine Chepauk turned electrical adjacent earlier the archetypal shot of the high-stakes IPL 2026 clash betwixt Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad was bowled, acknowledgment to a classical infinitesimal involving erstwhile India manager Ravi Shastri and MS Dhoni.During the flip connected Monday, Shastri sent the packed Chennai assemblage into a frenzy erstwhile helium cheekily asked CSK skipper

Ruturaj Gaikwad

the question each instrumentality wrong the stadium wanted answered.

“I person to inquire you that question. MS Dhoni, wherever is he? Is helium playing?” Shastri said arsenic large cheers erupted astir the MA Chidambaram Stadium.The notation of Dhoni’s sanction triggered a deafening sound from the stands, with thousands of fans hoping the CSK fable would yet marque his archetypal quality of IPL 2026.

However, Gaikwad rapidly ended the suspense.“He’s inactive here, but he’s not acceptable capable to play this game,” the CSK skipper replied, drafting a mixed absorption from the crowd.Watch:

Dhoni has not featured this play owed to a calf strain, though his regular appearances during grooming sessions person kept speculation live regarding a imaginable comeback. Ahead of the match, erstwhile players including Ravichandran Ashwin had hinted that Dhoni could perchance diagnostic arsenic an Impact Player, portion Sunil Gavaskar expressed doubts implicit whether the seasoned would hazard returning during specified a important signifier of the tournament.

The lucifer itself carries immense playoff implications for some teams. CSK entered the contention placed sixth with six wins from 12 matches and needing victories successful some remaining games to enactment live successful the playoff race. SRH, meanwhile, came into the crippled 3rd connected the array with 7 wins from 12 matches.At the toss, SRH fielded a beardown XI featuring Heinrich Klaasen, Ishan Kishan and skipper Pat Cummins, portion CSK handed starts to Sanju Samson, Dewald Brevis and Spencer Johnson successful different must-win nighttime astatine Chepauk.Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Smaran Ravichandran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Praful HingeSunrisers Hyderabad Impact Subs: Travis Head, Aniket Verma, Liam Livingstone, Harsh Dubey, Harshal PatelChennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Prashant Veer, Akeal Hosein, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Spencer JohnsonChennai Super Kings Impact Subs: Mukesh Choudhary, Matthew Short, Sarfaraz Khan, Aman Khan, Gurjapneet Singh