The subplot is bigger than the main story. On the face of it, the game between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings is a virtual knockout. But MS Dhoni versus Virat Kohli overshadows it. Dhoni mother-henned Kohli in the Indian team and facilitated his rise. The latter still calls Dhoni “my captain”. In the IPL, however, they are rivals. Saturday could be the final act of this rivalry.
The term ‘team sport’ is an oxymoron in Indian cricket. It has revelled in its star culture, and Dhoni and Kohli, along with Rohit Sharma, have been Indian cricket’s biggest names over the last one decade-and-a-half. Both Dhoni and Kohli have been with CSK and RCB since the inception of the IPL. Rohit captained Mumbai Indians for 11 years.
This is a season of transition in the IPL. The common feeling is that this is going to be Dhoni’s last dance. He has handed over the CSK captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad and at 42 years of age, the wicketkeeper-batter is gradually sauntering into a golden sunset. Rohit is no longer the MI captain and with a mega auction coming up next year, it needs to be seen if he has already played his last game for the Mumbai-based franchise. For Kohli, there’s no suggestion that he will leave RCB. In fact, there’s a school of thought that he should be reinstated as the team captain.
Both CSK and RCB spotted the stars early, at a time when the ‘Beatles’ of Indian cricket —Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman — were nearing the end of their glorious careers. Dhoni and Kohli filled the stardom void and their franchises immensely benefited from that. CSK have 10.5 million followers on X (the erstwhile Twitter) alone. RCB’s X fan-following is 7.1 million. Without Dhoni and Kohli, this wouldn’t have happened. CSK have won five titles. But RCB are yet to break their duck. And yet, they are one of the most popular franchises in the IPL, thanks to their starboy.
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Savour the Dhoni and Kohli flavour in IPL 2024 as CSK take on RCB tonight.@Fancricket12 writes.@RCBTweets @ChennaiIPL @IPL @imVkohli @msdhoni #IPL2024 #RCBvsCSK #RCBvCSK https://t.co/3irIi2KARP
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) May 18, 2024
Rohit came to the party a little late, but once he found his feet, he made his presence felt. Winning five titles as MI captain made him a cult hero. No wonder that fans reacted so angrily after he was stripped of captaincy.
Together, Dhoni, Kohli and Rohit have made the IPL what it is today. The tournament has a media rights deal of approximately $6.2 billion. Its brand value is $10.7 billion, which is a five-time increase from 2009, when the IPL was valued at $2 million. A stellar starcast contributed to the league’s upward surge. Dhoni, Kohli and Rohit remain the brightest in the constellation.
What next? Will the game against RCB be Dhoni’s last if his team loses by more than 18 runs? Robin Uthappa, the former India and CSK batter, doesn’t think so. “Is this MS’s last run? I don’t think so,” he said, speaking on JioCinema. Then again, Dhoni has been playing through pain. He underwent a knee surgery after last year’s IPL and picked up a muscle injury early this season. Despite being in great hitting form, the former CSK captain is batting lower down the order, as managing his workload has become paramount. For how long can his body continue? Fans are bracing for a farewell.
Despite a poor season, MI have retained faith in Hardik Pandya and they will go to the 2025 mega auction under his captaincy. The franchise wants to build for the future and there’s every chance of a mutual separation with Rohit. The latter will have many takers if he comes to the auction. Already, one franchise is very keen to have a word with him, as it has begun its search for a new captain.
Kohli will be retained by RCB. He copped flak for not winning a title during his nine seasons of leading the franchise. But RCB know his value as a player and Kohli is still at the peak of his powers. Even this year, he is the tournament’s highest run-scorer as of now, with 661 runs from 13 matches. A strike-rate of 155.16 suggests a change in approach, a more gung-ho style batting, especially against spin.
Kohli has 9,907 runs in the IPL. Rohit has 7,607. Dhoni’s overall tally is 5,626. But they are way more than just the hard numbers. They are the ‘holy trinity’ of Indian cricket. Yes, everything good comes to an end. But as Ravi Shastri says, fans must enjoy, while it lasts.
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