New Delhi: Former India and Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, along with current team captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and several other squad members, began their preparations for IPL 2026 with their first practice session in Chennai on Sunday.
The five-time champions commenced their camp at the franchise’s high-performance centre, with several Indian players reporting for duty. Among those present were Ayush Mhatre, Mukesh Choudhary, Rahul Chahar, Urvil Patel, Ramakrishna Ghosh and Sarfaraz Khan. The franchise shared visuals from the session, showing Dhoni and Gaikwad batting in adjacent nets as preparations gathered momentum.
New signings Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma also joined the squad and took part in the drills. In the training footage, Sarfaraz was seen closely watching Dhoni’s net session, while Gaikwad appeared fluent, displaying assured footwork.
The current phase of the camp features Indian domestic players, while those on national duty will link up later. India internationals Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube, who are presently involved in the T20 World Cup, are expected to join the squad after the tournament concludes on March 7. Shreyas Gopal, fresh from Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy final campaign, will also report at a later date.
For now, the sessions are being supervised by assistant coaches Sridharan Sriram and Rajiv Kumar, along with strength and conditioning coach Greg King. Overseas players and members of the foreign coaching staff are yet to assemble.
Earlier on Sunday, the franchise revealed their jersey for the upcoming cash-rich event.
However, the arrival timeline for international recruits remains uncertain due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. With the situation still evolving, clarity on travel schedules and on the final fixtures list for IPL 2026 is awaited. However, international players part of the ongoing T20 World Cup will join the camp upon the conclusion of their team’s respective campaigns.
Squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dewald Brevis, Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan, Matt Short, Sanju Samson, MS Dhoni, Urvil Patel, Kartik, Shivam Dube, Zak Foulkes, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Shreyas Gopal, Jamie Overton, Akeal Hosein, Aman Khan, Veer, Noor Ahmad, Rahul Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Nathan Ellis, Matt Henry, Gurjapneet Singh, Anshul Kamboj, and Mukesh Choudhary.
(IANS)
