IPL 2026: Major updates on MS Dhoni and Dewald Brevis, CSK could change playing XI vs RCB

It's a double-decker Sunday in the IPL 2026. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will take on their arch rivals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in the evening, while Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will be up against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in the afternoon. 

Ahead of these matches, multiple speculations are drifting around CSK regarding their star players, MS Dhoni and Dewald Brevis. Will Dhoni and Brevis feature against RCB in today's match? The question remains.

CSK is yet to open their points tally in the IPL 2026

Chennai Super Kings are yet to register a win in the ongoing season, having lost to Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings in their first and second matches, respectively. Both of these matches they had to play without Dhoni and Brevis. The match against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru is going to be very crucial and challenging for them. 

On the other side, RCB, the winners of the IPL 2025, claimed a win in their opening fixture in the ongoing fixture in an emphatic way against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Bengaluru in the opener of the 2026 campaign.

Will MS Dhoni play today against RCB?

As per the latest reports, there are very thin chances of seeing the former skipper performing against the defending champions tonight as he has been going through a rehabilitation process. Dhoni is recovering from a calf strain sustained before the IPL 2026 season. Regarding this, the veteran keeper-batter is expected to miss three to four matches in the initial stage of the season. He missed the previous two matches, and if the reports are to be believed, then the 44-year-old is set to miss at least one to two more games of the IPL 2026 campaign.

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"MS Dhoni picked up a calf injury during our training on 22 March, I think. He will be out for two weeks or so. He hasn’t traveled with the team & is recuperating in Chennai. His absence is a blow," CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan informed before.

Will Dewald Brevis play today vs RCB?

The South African hard hitter missed the previous two matches of the Chennai Super Kings because of a side strain. According to the latest updates from the team’s practice session ahead of their match against RCB, the middle-order batter looked more refined than before. There is a possibility of seeing Brevis in the CSK batting order for today’s high-profile clash.

Last season, in the middle of the IPL 2025, Brevis was named as the replacement of injured Gurjapneet Singh. The emerging batter’s inclusion in the line-up proved instantly effective as the 22-year-old amassed 225 runs in six matches alongside a strike rate of 180 with two half-centuries.

After a batting collapse against the Rajasthan Royals, the batters in Yellow performed well against the Punjab Kings. Apart from Sanju Samson’s two consecutive underwhelming knocks, the middle-order of the team, in the presence of Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Ayush Mhatre, and Jamie Overton, looked promising. With Brevis in the line-up, CSK’s batting power will be more enthusiastic to see on the ground.