Another day that was full of injury updates. MS Dhoni and Akash Deep are struggling, while Lungi Ngidi isn’t allowed to play. It was a record-breaking day for RCB and Virat Kohli in Delhi. MI is forced to name an injury replacement. And should LSG consider a captaincy change?

MS Dhoni injury non-update
CSK head coach Stephen Fleming has stated that MS Dhoni’s recovery from calf injury has taken longer than expected. Ravichandran Ashwin, Dhoni’s former CSK teammate, has hinted that the wicketkeeper might be able to play. However, since CSK are getting back into form, they might not want to risk bringing him early.

RCB & Kohli smash record
RCB restricted DC to the lowest powerplay score in IPL’s history, 13/6, in Delhi. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood were unplayable, and DC managed to score just 75. RCB chased the target down in just 6.3 overs as Virat Kohli became the first batter to score 9,000 runs in the IPL.

Lungi Ngidi can’t play
Lungi Ngidi recovered from his head injury but wasn’t allowed to play against RCB. According to the ICC’s protocol, following a concussion injury, a player can’t step on the field for a week. He won’t be available for the RR match either. Meanwhile, Mitchell Starc wasn’t cleared to play in Delhi by Cricket Australia.
Latest on Cricket
- 3 T20Is left for T20 World Cup 2026, India women’s team’s confidence all-time low
- Predicted RR Playing XI vs PBKS: Time to drop struggling Shimron Hetmyer
- DRS, April 28: No Ngidi for DC, KKR pacer out of IND vs AFG Test & LSG asked to sack Pant as captain

Akash Deep injury update
Akash Deep, who was ruled out of the IPL 2026 season for KKR with a lower back stress injury, won’t be fit for the one-off India vs Afghanistan Test in early June. Akash is expected to sit out for the next 3 or 4 months and is eyeing making his comeback to competitive cricket in the Duleep Trophy 2026.

New LSG captain?
Former PBKS batting coach Wasim Jaffer believes LSG should consider relieving Rishabh Pant of the burden of captaincy. The former India cricketer thinks Pant will succeed if he plays just as a batter, and Aiden Markram is perhaps a better option to lead LSG, considering his success with South Africa and the Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

MI lose spinner
Mitchell Santner has been ruled out of the IPL 2026 season with a left shoulder injury. The New Zealand all-rounder has injured himself while taking a catch on the boundary. MI has signed South African spinner Keshav Maharaj for INR 75 lakh as his replacement for the remainder of the tournament.
Cricket
Abhishek Sharma & Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to open in IPL 2026 team of the week (April 20 to 26)


