IPL 2026: Why is MS Dhoni not playing RR vs CSK Match 3?

The inaugural champions of the Indian Premier League (IPL) are taking on the five-time winners Chennai Super Kings in the third match of the IPL 2026 at the ACA Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati. 

The five-time IPL Chennai Super Kings will look to start their campaign on a high with a win in this encounter. They had a horrid season in 2025, where they finished in the 10th position in the points table. Whereas, it was the same case with RR, as they too had finished in the second-last position. Both teams would want to start fresh with this encounter.

RR vs CSK: Toss Update

Riyan Parag, Rajasthan Royals captain, won the toss and chose to field first. As there are strong chances of having a rain-interrupted game, this was a pretty straightforward decision. He also spoke about what it feels like to be a full-time captain of such a successful franchise. 

MS Dhoni misses out with calf injury

In what could be a big blow for CSK, their former captain MS Dhoni has been ruled out for the first few games of CSK in IPL 2026. He sustained a calf strain during the pre-tournament training. It was earlier confirmed by the franchise, making the announcement regarding the veteran’s absence official. South Africa’s Dewald Brevis is also missing this contest due to injury. CSK’s new recruit Kartik Sharma, meanwhile, has made his debut. 

RR vs CSK: What did the captains say?

Riyan Parag, RR captain

“We’re bowling first. There’s been a lot of rain here actually. So even though it is a red soil wicket, it’s going to be a little moisture. So we want to try and extract that in the first few overs and then see how we go back into the game. (On leading RR) It feels nice. It feels very overwhelming. I’ve been with this franchise for eight years now. And then seeing the transition that has happened from me being a 17-year-old to being here as captain, I feel the support has been incredible.” 

Ruturaj Gaikwad, CSK captain

“It was a no-brainer to bowl first actually. The wicket has been under the covers for a long time now, with overcast conditions as well, so we would have loved to bowl first, but neverheless, we’ll look to start positively. (On having a lot of youth in the squad) Well, it was not something which we decided at the start of the cycle, but you saw that how the last year really went for us. And that is how we thought we’ll go into the auction with some strategy behind it, whatever options that are available, what are the best options that are available and buy them into the team and buy them into the culture and let’s hope that they go really well. So that was the thought process behind it and hopefully it will work.”

RR vs CSK: Playing 11s

Rajasthan Royals

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (capt), Shimron Hetmyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Brijesh Sharma

Impact Players: Donovan Ferreira, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Ravi Singh, Sushant Mishra, Tushar Deshpande

Chennai Super Kings 

Sanju Samson (WK), Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Ayush Mhatre, Matt Short, Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Matt Henry, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed

Impact Players: Sarfaraz Khan, Prashant Veer, Rahul Chahar, Gurjapneet Singh, Ramakrishna Ghosh