This is that time of the year when flowers bloom at Semmozhi Poonga (a botanical garden) in Chennai. Colours tempt your eyes, marigolds touch your senses, while roses live at your knee, oozing resplendence. This is also that time of the year when MS Dhoni dusts off his cricket kit and hits the Chepauk nets.
It’s an everlasting love affair – Chennai Super Kings and their former captain. It has never been like an employer-employee relationship. To judge it from the fans’ perspective, you are allowed to paraphrase The Police song that topped the Billboard charts in 1983 – every game he plays, every night he stays, they will be watching him.
Dhoni was born two years before Sting became a household name through that number. He will turn 44 on July 7. He is an occasional cricketer now, who can still clobber Matheesha Pathirana, a death-over specialist, at the CSK nets while braving a dodgy knee. After the customary year-long hiatus, Dhoni will play competitive cricket again, against Mumbai Indians at Chepauk on Sunday.
For how long will he continue to play? This correspondent had asked this to CSK supremo and former BCCI president N Srinivasan a few years ago. “As long as he wants to,” replied the veteran administrator.
Confirmation came from Dhoni himself ahead of tonight’s game. “I can play for as long as I want for CSK,” he told JioHotstar. “This is my franchise. Even if I’m in a wheelchair, they will drag me.”
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The BCCI bringing back a rule that allowed Indian players who haven’t played international cricket for five years or more to be retained as “uncapped” helped continue the love story. CSK retained Dhoni for Rs 4 crore.
In 2008, Chennai didn’t have an icon player. Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Delhi revelled in their own icons – Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag respectively. CSK bought Dhoni for $1.5 million. From proposing a ‘Big Three’ model in world cricket to picking up Dhoni at the inaugural IPL auction, Srinivasan has had a habit of staying ahead of the curve.
A Ranchi boy becoming Chennai’s ‘Thala’ defied common logic. Even Srinivasan had to search for an answer before coming up with: “Maybe, the way he showed his eagerness to know and understand the local culture right from the first season. He would go out on a motorcycle and engage with the fans.”
Success played a huge part. Rohit Sharma, too, led Mumbai Indians to five IPL triumphs. But Dhoni remains the tournament’s OG – the captain’s captain.
On Saturday, CSK put out a video on their X (erstwhile Twitter) handle – Hardik Pandya, the MI skipper, approaching Dhoni and giving him a deferential embrace, as the two teams trained at Chepauk. The caption was pretty apt: “The Hug In H-D!”
The Hug In H-D! 🫂💛💙#CSKvMI #WhistlePodu 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/9HKXiPSJAx
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) March 22, 2025
Only a while ago, Ruturaj Gaikwad, the ‘chosen one’, was giving an insight into his predecessor’s batting/netting approach these days. “It is pretty much very simple,” the current CSK captain told reporters at the pre-match press conference. “(He is) focused on trying to hit as many sixes as possible, trying to get the right swing and trying to be in the best shape.”
Last year, Dhoni batted low down the order, at times at No. 8 or even 9. Some pundits questioned it. Later, during a promotional event, Dhoni spoke about the rationale behind his decision, that he wanted to give opportunities to those who were in the reckoning for last year’s T20 World Cup.
At this stage of his career, Dhoni is not going to play a long game. Maybe, he will look forward to batting for a couple of overs and throwing the kitchen sink. But there’s a bigger picture. The famous spin-choke with Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Noor Ahmed is expected to be CSK’s go-to template, especially at home. Gaikwad will be the captain. Dhoni will continue to be his on-field mentor and the sounding board.
Also Read: Spin gives CSK the edge against MI missing Pandya, Bumrah