Dewald Brevis, and MS Dhoni became the first to strike the nets before the first home match of Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (2026). Punjab Kings will play at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on April 3 against CSK who lost their season opener to Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati.
Still, there is no certainty whether Brevis and Dhoni, who were absent at the last game because of fitness reasons, will take part in the match or not. But the fact that the duo went back to the nets is good news nonetheless since the team was at a loss trying to take on Royals, and could only score an unimposing 127 which was gunned down by the opponents in 12.1 overs leaving the five-time winners with eight wickets in their net, a net-run-rate-denting defeat.
It turned out that MS Dhoni will miss not less than two weeks of action with a calf strain, and Brevis was known to be out of at least the clash against Royals because of a side strain.
Before the conflict with PBKS, CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad was unable to assure the presence of either of the two.
“He’s taken off today, so I’m not really sure. Yesterday, we didn’t have a chat,” Gaikwad said about Brevis during the pre-match press conference.
Subsequently in another nets facility Brevis was observed batting without any apparent discomfort. CSK also added Matthew Short to the team in place of Brevis and Sarfaraz Khan was invited as the impact substitute after a top-order meltdown.
CSK Await Dhoni Fitness Update Ahead of Key Clash
Concerning the rehabilitation of Dhoni, Gaikwad indicated that an update can be expected on 13th day since the wicketkeeper-batter will not be playing at least two weeks. Dhoni was however observed to be taking on throwdowns in the nets before the practice of CSK was over.
The Friday critics of CSK are so after they won their first game by three wickets over Gujarat Titans in Mullanpur. CSK, who have a history of wooden-spoon finish recorded in the history of IPL last season, will have a short turnaround after the April 3 game with Punjab Kings since they will face defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday (April 5) in a marquee match.
