New Delhi: Ahead of the high-octane Indian Premier League 2026 clash between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings on Thursday, star player Rohit Sharma faces a fitness test. Upon confirming the full fitness of the Mumbai batter, he would be able to participate in the big contest between the two biggest teams in the league.
Rohit began his IPL 2026 campaign on a brilliant note as he played a match-winning knock against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) which gave Mumbai their first victory. Post that match, his form dipped in the next two clashes before he was forced to leave the fourth game mid-way against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) due to a hamstring injury.
Since then, the five-time champions played two more matches but Rohit has not participated in either of them. All this while, the right-handed batter was seen recovering from his injury with an expectation of participating in the next clash.
Final call on Rohit to be taken on Thursday
Mumbai’s 7th match against CSK on April 23 will be of utmost importance, keeping in mind their campaign in the edition and Rohit’s participation becomes even more essential. Though he looks in the scheme of things for Thursday’s battle but a final call is set to be taken on the match day itself after a test.
The Super Kings face a similar situation with MS Dhoni not being able to play a single game till now and expected to take to the field on Thursday. The decision regarding his participation will be taken by Dhoni himself along with the medical team on the match day, confirmed CSK bowling coach Eric Simons.
He sat out from the beginning of the cash-rich league due to a calf strain and has not played even one of the six CSK matches. His participation becomes crucial for the side which, like Mumbai, has been struggling in the league.