Chennai Super Kings batting coach Michael Hussey has revealed why MS Dhoni does not stay present at venues when his team plays in IPL 2026. Dhoni has been attending training sessions and pre-match net sessions, but he has not been seen at the ground during CSK’s matches in the ongoing competition.
Hussey said Dhoni, who is recovering from a calf injury, is extremely team-oriented and always prioritises the group over individual attention. He explained that Dhoni felt his presence at venues could become a distraction, with cameras and crowd attention shifting heavily towards him instead of the team’s performance.
“He’s such a team-orientated guy. He always wants what’s best for the team and he was worried that if he came there’d be a bit too much of a distraction. Obviously the cameras would be on him a lot. The crowd would be cheering for him and things like that. And he really wanted the team to just be able to go about their job, do our thing,” Hussey said before before CSK’s clash against Mumbai Indians on Saturday.
“Whether that’s right or wrong, that’s not my decision to sort of make. But that’s the thinking behind with Dhoni not wanting to come to the matches,” Hussey said.
‘DHONI HAS BEEN FOLLOWING CSK CLOSELY’
Hussey added that Dhoni continues to follow matches closely from home and remains actively involved during training, where he shares his experience and boosts the team’s confidence. He noted that Dhoni’s decision was purely aimed at ensuring the team could focus fully, without outside attention affecting their game-day environment.
“Obviously he’s been watching very closely back home. I personally love having him around the dressing room. He offers so much wisdom. He offers so much confidence to the rest of the guys. So he’s obviously at training all the time and always a bubbly personality around training and offers a lot of his experience to the players there. But it was just a case he didn’t want to see himself as a distraction to the rest of the team and that’s why he decided on game day just to sort of stay away,” Hussey added.
Dhoni is yet to play a match in IPL 2026 due to his injury. Hussey had earlier said that Dhoni has been batting well in the nets, but his participation depends on recovery from a calf injury, as he needs to run quickly while batting in the death overs. The Super Kings are currently placed sixth in the table with six points and a net run rate of -0.121.
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