New Delhi: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming revealed former captain MS Dhoni has suffered a fresh injury setback, delaying his return to the playing XI in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. Dhoni was not part of the playing XI as CSK suffered a crushing 8-wicket defeat against the Gujarat Titans at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, April 27.

Dhoni suffered a calf strain ahead of the start of the IPL 2026, which ruled him out of action. While his return has been one of the major talking points of CSK’s campaign this season, Dhoni continues to remain on the sidelines a month into the tournament. The 44-year-old has missed all of CSK’s eight matches so far this season.

Ahead of CSK’s clash against the Gujarat Titans, some reports claimed that Dhoni has recovered fully and has cleared all fitness tests to make his comeback. However, the former CSK captain was delaying his return to ensure he doesn’t disrupt the team’s combination and momentum amid a crucial phase in the season.

However, CSK head coach Fleming debunked the claims. Fleming revealed Dhoni tweaked his calf again while playing during CSK’s warm-up game, which has delayed his comeback in the IPL 2026. Fleming said the 44-year-old is keen to play, but cannot be rushed into action as he works his way back to full fitness.

“He’s pretty keen. The calf is a tough one though, if he takes off and rips the calf again, then he will be gone. So we pushed it early, in the warm-up game he tweaked it again, it’s my understanding, and since then he has been just working hard to get some movement into it, but there was a setback, so it has taken longer than we thought,” Fleming said, providing an update on Dhoni.

The questions around Dhoni’s return drew louder ahead of CSK’s clash against the Gujarat Titans on Sunday after the legendary wicket-keeper batter was seen batting in the nets and having a sprint alongside the team’s physio during a training session. Earlier Dhoni had a wicket-keeping drill along with a batting session in the nets in Mumbai but didn’t play in CSK’s last game against the Mumbai Indians.

On Dhoni’s injury status and potential return, Fleming admitted that the former CSK captain himself will be the best to answer. However, the CSK coach insisted that the 44-year-old is working hard with the team’s medical staff to make his comeback in the IPL 2026.

“He is the guide on this one, and he’s working hard with the physio and doing all the rehab, and we’re just waiting for the word really. But all I can keep saying is stop making light of it, as he is progressing and doing everything he can,” Fleming added on Dhoni.

Chennai Super Kings lost by 8 wickets to the Gujarat Titans at home on Sunday, suffering their fifth defeat in IPL 2026. Asked to bat first, CSK suffered a terrible batting collapse before skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 60-ball 74 and cameos from Kartik Sharma and Jamie Overton helped them post 158 runs on the board.

GT rode on opener Sai Sudharsan’s brilliant 87 and crucial knocks from Jos Buttler (39) and skipper Shubman Gill (33) to chase down the target of 159 runs with 20 balls to spare and register a commanding win. CSK remain sixth on the points table with six points after eight games in the IPL 2026, while GT jumped to the 5th spot with eight points in as many games.