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.