Chennai Super Kings (CSK) players took the field wearing black armbands in their IPL 2026 match against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Thursday.CSK and MI came face to face for the first time in IPL 2026. The much-awaited game, dubbed as the ‘El Classico’, entered a new phase as it is the first IPL match without Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni in the playing XI.CSK players were wearing black armbands due to CSK pacer Mukesh Choudhary’s mother passing away on Tuesday after a year-long battle with illness.
“This one is for Mukesh’s mother. In her memory and in solidarity with Mukesh, we wear black armbands and play with a little more in our hearts today,” CSK said in a post on social media.“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,” the franchise had earlier posted on Thursday morning.Mukesh Choudhary was part of the CSK’s XI for Thursday’s match.In the match, Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to bowl against Chennai Super Kings between the two five-time champions.Mumbai Indians went in with the same playing XI from their previous game, with Rohit Sharma missing his third straight match due to a hamstring issue.For Chennai Super Kings, MS Dhoni is still recovering from a calf strain and has not played a game in IPL 2026.FOLLOW LIVETeamsMumbai Indians: 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.Chennai Super Kings: 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
