CSK vs SRH Playing 11 and Toss News, IPL 2026: No MS Dhoni as CSK opt to bat in must‑win encounter

“It’s T20 cricket and its not easy every game. He knows its not going to work every game. We would have probably wanted to bowl. Same team as the last game,” Cummins said.

Chennai Super Kings have won the toss and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad opted to bat first.

“We are looking to bat first. Looking a bit dry, and we want to put up a good total. Even the last game against MI, it wasn’t the best of wickets to bat on. Nothing complicated and we want to keep it simple,” said Gaikwad.

Unfortunately, MS Dhoni is not fit enough for action and will not play tonight! Akeal Hosein is named in CSK’s 11, replacing Gurjapneet.

“I think we’ve been in a really good space throughout the season. There’s been a very good tempo within the group, and everyone has contributed together. Even when we lost a few games early on, the mindset was always that we could come back from anywhere. That’s the most important thing. When you’re in a good headspace, you’re able to play your best cricket. That’s exactly what we’ve done throughout the season so far, and we’ll continue doing that,” Kishan said.

We are just ten minutes away from the toss, and fans will receive word on whether MS Dhoni will be in action tonight. Skippers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Pat Cummins would walk out for the all-important toss soon.

Graeme Swann: This is pitch number five, we’re smack in the middle. It’s a bit bigger down the ground, 78 metres. All in all, looks really good. I’m just going to go down and tell you it is rock hard, first and foremost. But I don’t really know what this pitch does, but somebody here does, and that’s WV Raman. Tell us what’s going to go on tonight.

WV Raman: I think as far as this pitch is concerned, number five is a black soil surface, and it’s looking good and it’s hard as well. Let’s not get misled by what has happened in the previous games. There’s been a 200-plus game on this surface as well as a sub-160 game here. But given the depth of the batting of both the sides that are playing tonight, we can expect a tall scoring game here. Most teams like to chase, don’t they? But I wouldn’t be surprised, given this pitch, if a team wins the toss and bats first. That’s because it’s a bit dry, the spinners could play a role here and the boundaries are big as well. That’ll be another consideration and when there’s some extra bounce on the surface, the spinners can make use of it if it grips a little bit.

The Chennai Super Kings have a 35.5% probability of securing a spot in the IPL 2026 playoffs. The Sunrisers Hyderabad, on the other hand, are in a much more favourable position and have a 75% probability of marching into the next stage.

Chennai needs two wins to keep their playoff hopes alive, but everything depends on how the remaining IPL matches pan out.

MS Dhoni is in Chepauk! He travelled with the team and was the last one to come off the bus. It is the first time in the 2026 season that Dhoni is with the team on a matchday.

But the anticipation remains. Whether he is in the Playing XI is yet to be seen.

The weather in Chennai has been a bit inconsistent over the last few days. According to Accuweather, it is expected to be rainy at the time of the match. While the chances are low, but not negligible. There is a 34% chance of precipitation at 07:00 PM IST which increase up to 47% till the time the match is expected to end.

A day before, the IMD issued a heavy rain alert across several districts in Tamil Nadu.

South African all-rounder Forrester had been brought in as a replacement for England’s Jamie Overton, who had been ruled out due to a thigh injury after his match-winning performance against Lucknow Super Giants.

Forrester wasn’t available for selection in CSK’s return fixture against LSG, in which Australian left-arm quick Spencer Johnson made his debut for the franchise. Now that he’s available for selection, it remains to be seen if CSK bring him into the XI right away, although it will be tricky considering the Super Kings have a settled middle order.

SRH had suffered a massive defeat against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, but have had a five-day break since then. But given their disastrous batting performance, they might be inclined towards bringing Aniket Verma or Harsh Dubey into the XI.

Dhoni’s last match for Chennai Super Kings, which also happens to be his last appearance in any major level of the sport, was against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on 25 May last year. ‘Thala’ did not walk out to bat in that game and took one catch during GT’s chase, as CSK won their final game of the seasonby 83 runs, though it didn’t prevent them from finishing at the bottom of the table.

His last appearance at Chepauk, was nearly a month before the away game against GT – in the fourth-wicket defeat against Punjab Kings, in which he scored 11 off 4 deliveries.

Here’s Sunrisers Hyderabad’s predicted XI for their penultimate match of the season: 

Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (WK), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Smaran Ravichandran, Pat Cummins (C), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Praful Hinge, Sakib Hussain (IP)

Here’s Chennai Super Kings’ predicted XI for their final home game of the season: 

Sanju Samson (WK), Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Prashant Veer, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Spencer Johnson, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh (IP)

Chennai Super Kings: Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Prashant Veer, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Spencer Johnson, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Akeal Hosein, Matthew Short, Matt Henry, MS Dhoni, Shreyas Gopal, Dian Forrester, Zakary Foulkes, Rahul Chahar, Kuldip Yadav, Akash Madhwal, Aman Khan, Macneil Noronha.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Smaran Ravichandran, Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Praful Hinge, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Aniket Verma, Liam Livingstone, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Kamindu Mendis, Dilshan Madushanka, Gerald Coetzee, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari, Krains Fuletra, Onkar Tarmale, RS Ambrish, Amit Kumar.

The pitch that would be used for the SRH vs CSK clash is expected to aid the batters. It would be played on the surface that was used against the Mumbai Indians.

MS Dhoni underwent training with his Chennai Super Kings’ teammates, just the way he had done throughout the league stage. He took up a 30 to 40 minute practice session, and faced throwdowns and spin bowlers before leaving, as per ESPNcricinfo.

The Chennai Super Kings would compete in their final home match on Monday at Chepauk, and there is significant anticipation about whether MS Dhoni would be in action tonight. It might be the last time the home fans could see him live in action.

Dhoni is yet to feature in the IPL 2026 after being ruled out due to an injury.

Fans in India can watch the Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad match live on the Star Sports Network. The live streaming would be made available on the Jiohotstar app and website with an active subscription.

The Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad match will start at 07:30 PM IST. The toss would take place half-an-hour before the action. (07:00 PM IST)

The upcoming Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad IPL 2026 will take place at MA Chidambaram Staidum in Chepauk, Chennai.

We warmly welcome you to the toss coverage for the upcoming Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday. Check out all the toss-related information here