IPL 2026 CSK vs MI Match 44 Each Team Best Playing 11 Preview
With Rohit Sharma rested again, discover the CSK vs MI match 44 each team best playing 11 for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
It’s match number 33 of the Tata Indian Premier League 2026, and we have the El-Clasico round 2 as the Chennai Super Kings take on the Mumbai Indians at CSK’s home den, Chennai. The first round saw Chennai Super Kings registering a big win over Mumbai Indians, and that too in MI’s home turf, Wankhede. It was Sanju Samson who led the night with a brilliant century before Akeal Hosein’s 4-fer sealed the match for CSK.
Even with a solid win against MI, it has been a mixed bag for the Chennai Super Kings this season. They currently have 6 points from 8 games, and while the MI match may not be a knock-out exactly, they would ideally want to maintain the winning momentum, as a loss now would mean all their next 6 matches are must-win. While Ruturaj is back to form, the form of Brevis, Dube, and other middle-order players is a concern for them.
Mumbai Indians, meanwhile, would want to overcome their disastrous campaign so far this season. They currently have just 2 wins from 8 games, and another loss would send them packing home. If they lose one more, at max they can get to is 14, which would not be enough given how good the top 5 teams are doing in the competition, with the 5th team, GT, at 10 points from 9 games. MI, overall, would be cursing their bowling, which has looked ordinary throughout the tournament. Jasprit Bumrah has had just 2 wickets from 9 games this season, and that’s too much to digest from the GOAT.
Key Game Details
Tournament: Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026
Match Details: CSK vs MI Match 44
Where: Chennai
When: May 2, 2026, 7:30 pm IST
The transformation of Chepauk from traditional low-scoring affairs to high-scoring affairs is a case study to deep-dive into. Almost all matches this season have been high-scoring at this venue. CSK have tasted success in 2 of the 4 matches so far here, and would ideally want to win over, given Chepauk was once CSK’s fortress. If CSK bat first, MI’s low-confidence bowling will be under focus. CSK are also struggling with their batting problems, and it would be interesting to see how they cope with MI’s bowling.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Complete Squad List for IPL 2026
Batters
- Dewald Brevis (OS)
- Ruturaj Gaikwad (C)
- Sarfaraz Khan
Wicket-keepers
- Kartik Sharma
- MS Dhoni
- Sanju Samson
- Urvil Patel
All-rounders
- Aman Khan
- Anshul Kamboj
- Jamie Overton (OS)
- Matthew Short (OS)
- Prashant Veer
- Shivam Dube
- Zak Foulkes (OS)
Bowlers
- Akash Madhwal
- Akeal Hosein (OS)
- Gurjapneet Singh
- Khaleel Ahmed
- Matt Henry (OS)
- Mukesh Choudhary
- Spencer Johnson (OS)
- Noor Ahmad (OS)
- Rahul Chahar
- Ramkrishna Ghosh
- Shreyas Gopal
Chennai Super Kings still does not have any news on the return of MS Dhoni. It’s irritating for the fans, who are patiently waiting for their most-loved player, MS Dhoni, to return to playing 11. But the bad news still persists as MS Dhoni may still not be available to play. So, expect Chennai Super Kings to continue with the same playing 11, with Mukesh preferred above Sarfaraz Khan as an extra bowling option. Aside from this, CSK would want Brevis and Dube to return to form, as those two are the ones stopping MI from making big scores.
IPL 2026 CSK vs MI Match 44 Best Playing XI for Chennai Super Kings
- Ruturaj Gaikwad (c)
- Sanju Samson (wk)
- Urvil Patel
- Dewald Brevis
- Kartik Sharma
- Shivam Dube
- Jamie Overton
- Akeal Hosein
- Anshul Kamboj
- Noor Ahmad
- Mukesh Choudhary
Best Impact Player: Gurjapneet Singh
Mumbai Indians (MI) Full Squad List for IPL 2026
Batters
- Danish Melawar
- Rohit Sharma
- Sherfane Rutherford (OS)
- Suryakumar Yadav
- Tilak Varma
Wicket-keepers
- Quinton de Kock (OS)
- Robin Minz
- Ryan Rickelton (OS)
All-rounders
- Atharva Ankolekar
- Corbin Bosch (OS)
- Hardik Pandya
- Mayank Rawat
- Mitchell Santner (OS)
- Naman Dhir
- Raj Bawa
- Will Jacks (OS)
Bowlers
- Allah Ghazanfar (OS)
- Ashwani Kumar
- Deepak Chahar
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Mayank Markande
- Mohammad Izhar
- Raghu Sharma
- Shardul Thakur
- Trent Boult (OS)
The Mumbai Indians team made quite a few changes in their last encounter, along with the batting order. Ryan Rickelton returned to the opening scenes, and he got a name batting partner, Will Jacks. These two should continue to open, with Rohit Sharma still not recovered. 3-6 should see a floating batting order, with SKY, Naman, Hardik, and Tilak coming in to bat depending on the match situation. In the bowling department, MI would want to utilise Shardul, given he was not used in batting or bowling as an impact sub in the last match. No more changes expected in the bowling department for MI.
IPL 2026 CSK vs MI Match 44 Best Playing XI for Mumbai Indians
- Ryan Rickelton (wk)
- Will Jacks
- Naman Dhir
- Suryakumar Yadav
- Tilak Varma
- Hardik Pandya (c)
- Robin Minz
- Shardul Thakur
- Allah Ghazanfar
- Trent Boult
- Jasprit Bumrah
Impact Player: Ashwani Kumar
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