{"id":158580,"date":"2026-04-23T16:38:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T22:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=158580"},"modified":"2026-04-23T16:38:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T22:08:55","slug":"dhoni-to-return-as-wicketkeeper-in-ipl-2026-not-just-impact-player-michael-hussey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=158580","title":{"rendered":"Dhoni to return as wicketkeeper in IPL 2026, not just impact player: Michael Hussey"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Chennai Super Kings batting coach Michael Hussey on Thursday made it clear that whenever MS Dhoni returns from his calf strain, he will resume duties as a wicketkeeper and not feature merely as an impact player.<\/p>\n

The 44-year-old missed his seventh straight game in IPL 2026 in Thursday\u2019s clash against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, as he continues to recover from the injury that initially ruled him out for two weeks on March 28.<\/p>\n

There had been speculation that Dhoni could return as a specialist batter using the Impact Player rule, especially with Sanju Samson and Kartik Sharma available as wicketkeeping options.<\/p>\n

However, Hussey dismissed that possibility, indicating Dhoni would be back in his usual role behind the stumps.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I\u2019m pretty sure he\u2019ll be behind the stumps. The biggest thing for him is that he\u2019s had the calf injury, it\u2019s just the running and late in innings, if he comes in, having to scamper those ones and twos, he just needs to make sure the calf is strong enough to withstand that,\u201d Hussey told the broadcaster during a mid-match interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut certainly from a skill perspective, we know what he can do as a keeper. We know he\u2019s batting, he\u2019s batting really well, so it\u2019s just hopefully getting that confidence in the calf,\u201d Hussey added.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ | Sunil Gavaskar: Domestic cricketers deserve more than applause and sparse crowds<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Dhoni\u2019s absence has remained a constant talking point around CSK matches.<\/p>\n

At the toss ahead of its Mumbai Indians game, skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad acknowledged the void, saying, \u201call thanks to the legend (Dhoni) who is not here unfortunately\u201d while referring to the crowd reception.<\/p>\n

Although he has been out longer than expected, Dhoni offered a glimpse of his progress by keeping wickets in the nets on the eve of the match, his first such session this season, but was again not included in the playing XI, having now missed half of CSK\u2019s games.<\/p>\n

Giving an update about Dhoni, Hussey said he is improving but not yet match-ready.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, he\u2019s progressing really well. I know he\u2019s pushing hard to get back as quickly as he possibly can. I know all the fans want to see MS Dhoni out there playing as well. So we\u2019re hopeful maybe in the next few games. We want him back as quickly as he possibly can as well,\u201d Hussey said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut obviously, he needs to be close to 100 per cent ready to give his best. Because he\u2019s been batting well on the nets. He looks good in the nets. Just needs to run hard between the wickets too,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

CSK next faces Gujarat Titans in Chennai on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Published on Apr 23, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Chennai Super Kings batting coach Michael Hussey on Thursday made it clear that whenever MS Dhoni returns from his calf strain, he will resume duties as a wicketkeeper and not feature merely as an impact player. The 44-year-old missed his seventh straight game in IPL 2026 in Thursday\u2019s clash against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":158581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-158580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/11908_22_4_2026_20_23_47_3_DSC_9166.JPG","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgnRh4-FfK","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=158580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/158581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=158580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=158580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=158580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}