New Delhi: Expectations surrounding MS DhoniThe payoff is high, but not so much as the veteran is still sidelined. Mumbai Indians won the coin toss and selected to play chennai super kings during the IPL 2026 match at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.Dhoni is yet to feature in IPL 2026. He has been recovering from a calf strain suffered before the start of the game late last month and fans’ expectations have been greatly increased ahead of the big game.The day before the match, Dhoni lit up the stadium and entertained the photographers, ground crew and staff with his lithe side. He was seen playing with the robot dog “Champak” during training at Wankhede Stadium. The five-time IPL winning captain had a rigorous training session on Tuesday in which he kept wickets and then spent time hitting the nets.On Wednesday, he had a brief initial session before taking a break before returning for nearly an hour to face the specialist bowlers and fast bowlers.However, for fans, the wait continues to see their superstar.Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya said after winning the toss: “We’re going to bowl first. A lot of boxes are ticked, the intensity is there, we need this game, everyone is involved and invested. It’s a conscious effort, intensity is in your hands, we just want to have fun and everything goes our way. Looks green but bowls well. Same team.”On the other hand, CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad One adjustment has been made to the eleven.“We will also bowl first but it is a 50-50 call. It looks like a good wicket and coming to the Wankhede Stadium, whether you bat first or bowl first, you have to bat well. So, even if you’re the first batter, it’s just about putting on a good show. We’re doing very well. It’s just that we can’t honor it at the moment. But I thought we did a good job of getting back in the game with our bowling last game. Even with the batting, we started really well. But like I said, these are just a few moments where we have to make sure we deliver and get the win. But everyone is confident and ready to go,” he said.“(Men in yellow, wherever you go, there is a lot of noise?) Yes, obviously it all goes to the legend (Dhoni), unfortunately he is not here. But obviously it is because of him. We will get a lot of support wherever you go. So hopefully tonight we can make them happy. We have some changes,” the CSK skipper said.Mumbai Indians (Starting Lineup): Quinton de Kock(w), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya(c), Tilak Varma, Sherfane Rutherford, Mitchell Santner, Jasprit Bumrah, Krish Bhagat, AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani KumarChennai Super Kings (Starting Lineup): Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Sarfaraz Khan, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary
