Why MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma are not playing today’s IPL match?

The TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match no. 33 will be between the two most successful franchises of the tournament, the Mumbai Indians (MI), who will take on the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

The two teams have had a similar kind of tournament so far; both have won just two games and lost four. This is the first MI vs CSK game without Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni in the playing XI.

MS Dhoni is suffering from a calf strain and is not fully fit to play against MI. Same for Rohit Sharma, who has not recovered from the hamstring injury and misses out on the clash. The two teams have been suffering from injuries, with CSK having more players out. For the Men in Yellow, Ayush Mhatre has been ruled out, as has Khaleel Ahmed.

Why Rohit Sharma skipped the Mumbai Indians' last few matches?

Rohit Sharma has missed some matches for the Mumbai Indians after he sustained a hamstring injury during the game against RCB while batting in the second innings. He had to walk off, retired hurt, and did not come out to bat later in the innings. Though it is believed that Rohit Sharma did not have any tear in his hamstring.

Rohit Sharma also missed the last match against the Punjab Kings and later against the Gujarat Titans, as he could not recover from the injury he sustained. Rohit Sharma was replaced by Quinton de Kock at the top order during the PBKS game, and later it was Danish Malewar who made his debut against GT in the last fixture.

Why did MS Dhoni miss the first half of IPL 2026 for CSK?

MS Dhoni has been one of the players who has been associated with CSK since the start of the IPL in 2008 and is one of the four players who have played every season of the tournament. Dhoni has stepped down from the captaincy role and now only plays a keeper-batter. However, this season, the 44-year-old is yet to feature.

Dhoni, who was supposed to take the gloves for CSK, picked up an injury during the pre-season. He had a calf strain a week before IPL 2026 started. Due to this, he has been out and not been featuring for the Men in Yellow against MI.

Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings in IPL

The MI vs CSK clash has been one of the fiercest and oldest rivalries of the IPL. The two teams have been playing against each other since 2008 and have only missed two seasons, due to CSK's ban. They have met 39 times in IPL history, with MI winning 21 times to CSK’s 18. In the final, they have met four times, with MI having the upper hand, winning three.

The two teams have produced some of the greatest players in the history of the game and some excellent moments. From the likes of the last ball finish in 2019 and Dhoni's tactical brilliance to get Kieron Pollard out in the 2010 final. It will see another blockbuster clash tonight.

Also Read: Breaking! CSK bring in Akash Madhwal as replacement for Ayush Mhatre in IPL 2026