After MS Dhoni, CSK suffer another major blow ahead of IPL 2026 campaign opener against Rajasthan Royals

After MS Dhoni, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) suffered another injury setback as Dewald Brevis will at least miss their opening game of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). The news of Brevis' injury comes just a day before their IPL 2026 opener against Rajasthan Royals at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Monday.

After it was reported that Brevis would miss the first two or three games, CSK officially put a statement confirming the South African will play no part against Rajasthan Royals. Brevis is CSK's third injury after Nathan Australian pacer Ellis and Dhoni. Ellis has already been ruled out of IPL 2026, with fellow Spencer Johnson replacing him.

The injury to Brevis will jeopardise CSK's middle-order plans. The right-hander, who joined CSK as a injury replacement player in IPL 2025, has already left his mark. The South African played six games last season, scoring 225 runs at a strike rate of 180, including two half-centuries.

Earlier this month, Brevis was a part of the South African squad that reached the T20 World Cup 2026 semifinals. He scored 207 runs at a strike rate of 146.80 in eight matches.

Who can replace Dewald Brevis?

One of the frontrunners to replace Brevis in the middle order is Sarfaraz Khan. The Mumbai batter was picked by CSK for ₹75 lakhs during the auction. Despite being with Royal Challenger Bengaluru (RCB) before, Sarfaraz didn't get to many chances.

Based on the videos on social media, Sarfaraz has been hitting the ball quite well at CSK nets and might get a chance to don the famous yellow jersey for the five-time champions.

When will MS Dhoni return?

Dhoni suffered a calf strain during practice and has been sidelined for the first two weeks in IPL 2026. “MS Dhoni is currently undergoing rehabilitation for a calf strain. As a result, he is likely to miss the first two weeks of IPL 2026,” CSK said in a release on March 28.

But a report in TOI suggest even more disappointing for the fans. “It is definitely a big blow for us and we’ll have to deal with it. He is taking rest and we want him back as soon as possible,” a CSK official was quoted as saying by the newspaper. The report also stated that Dhoni is unlikely to be available against Mumbai Indians on April 23.

In the absence of Dhoni, Sanju Samson will keep wickets for CSK.

CSK's full squad for IPL 2026

CSK full squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sanju Samson Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brewis, Shivam Dube, Urvil Patel, Noor Ahmad, Spencer Johnson, Shreyas Gopal, Khaleel Ahmed, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Mukesh Choudhary, Jamie Overton, Gurjapneet Singh, Anshul Kamboj, Akeal Hosein, Prashant Veer, Kartik Sharma (wk), Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar, Zak Foulkes.