"Chennai Super Kings Pay Tribute with Black Armbands in Emotional IPL Match Against Mumbai Indians"

Cheai Super Kings Pay Tribute with Black Armbands in Emotional Gesture

Cheai Super Kings players displayed a touching gesture of solidarity as they sported black armbands in their match against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. The poignant tribute was in honor of CSK pacer Mukesh Choudhary's mother, who passed away after a prolonged illness on Tuesday.

Expressing their condolences, the franchise shared a heartfelt message on Thursday morning, stating, "The CSK family mourns the passing of Mukesh Choudhary's mother. We stand with Mukesh and his family, keeping them in our thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time."

In the match, CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad lost the toss and was sent in to bat first by Mumbai Indians' skipper Hardik Pandya. Mumbai Indians retained the same playing XI from their previous match, with Rohit Sharma missing out for the third consecutive game due to a hamstring issue.

Notably, veteran cricketer MS Dhoni is still sidelined with a calf strain and has yet to make his season debut. Despite training with the CSK squad leading up to the game, the 44-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman will continue to be absent from the field, prolonging his return to the IPL 2026 season.

CSK had earlier stated, "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. Get well soon, Thala."

Teams for the match were as follows:

Hardik Pandya (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Sherfane Rutherford, Mitchell Santner, Jasprit Bumrah, Krish Bhagat, AM Ghazanfar, and Ashwani Kumar

Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, and Mukesh Choudhary

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