NEW DELHI: The roar inside Chepauk reached another level on Monday night as MS Dhoni made his way onto the field during Chennai Super Kings’ final home game of IPL 2026 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Even though the former CSK captain did not feature in the playing XI because of injury concerns, his brief appearance during the mid-innings break became one of the biggest moments of the night for the packed Chennai crowd.As the innings break began, Dhoni walked out alongside the rest of the CSK squad for a team photograph on the field. Players sat together on chairs near the boundary ropes while fans at the MA Chidambaram Stadium erupted into loud chants for the legendary wicketkeeper-batter. Videos of the moment quickly went viral across social media, with supporters applauding Dhoni’s final appearance at Chepauk this season.Watch: Earlier in the evening, the stadium atmosphere had already turned emotional during the toss when former India coach Ravi Shastri directly asked CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad whether Dhoni would finally return to action.“I have to ask you that question. MS Dhoni, where is he? Is he playing?” Shastri asked, triggering deafening cheers from the crowd.Gaikwad, however, confirmed that Dhoni was still unavailable due to fitness issues.“He’s still here, but he’s not fit enough to play this game,” Gaikwad replied.While Dhoni remained on the sidelines with a calf injury, CSK posted 180/7 after being asked to bat first. Pat Cummins led SRH’s bowling attack brilliantly with three wickets, while Sakib Hussain picked up two crucial scalps.Sanju Samson provided a fiery start for Chennai with 27, while Dewald Brevis added an important 44 in the middle overs. However, regular wickets prevented CSK from crossing the 200-run mark in a crucial clash with playoff implications for both sides.
