There is no denying MS Dhoni’s fandom. The Chennai Super Kings captain continues to be one of the biggest crowd pullers of the IPL eve at the age of 41. The viewership touches new heights every time Dhoni walks to bat wearing the yellow jersey, albeit for an over. Hailing the bond between Chennai Super Kings fans and MS Dhoni, former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh – who has donned the CSK yellow jersey in the past – claimed the wicketkeeper-batter has accepted all the adulation from the fans with the utmost respect. Harbhajan even went on to state that Dhoni has the biggest fan following in India.
“Mahendra Singh Dhoni is only one. There cannot be a bigger cricketer than him in India. Someone could have scored more runs than him and someone could have taken more wickets than him, but no one has a bigger fanbase than him. Dhoni has accepted this fandom to heart and he respects his teammates as well. He walks with so much love and emotion that anyone else would go mad, but Dhoni has carried this love and emotion in his heart for 15 years and he still hasn’t changed at all,” Harbhajan said Star Sports Cricket Live.
Dhoni hasn’t disappointed the fans one bit. Returning to his home ground in Chennai after nearly four years, Dhoni has displayed breathtaking strokeplay in this year’s IPL. Dhoni has bated only 28 balls in IPL 2023 but he has still managed to leave a huge impact by scoring at a strike rate of 210.
Having won the Southern Derby away from home against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings return to their home at Chepauk for another Southern Derby, this time against Sunsiers Hyderabad, for their next IPL match.
Led by their inspirational captain MS Dhoni, CSK will be raring to return to winning ways at home as they lost to Rajasthan Royals in a high-scoring last-over thriller here in their last league game.
SRH have never been able to beat CSK at Chepauk in IPL, and the Super Kings will be aiming to keep this record intact.
A sea of yellow is expected to fill the stadium as the Yellow Army takes on the Orange Army, who are being led by Aiden Markram. Thala Dhoni will once again be the cynosure of all eyes as CSK arrive at their Anbuden.
As CSK take on Sunrisers Hyderabad, teammates, as well as fans, will have their eyes hooked on all-rounder Shivam Dube – who set the stage on fire with his towering sixes against RCB at M Chinnaswamy.
Lauding the left-handed batter for his range of shots, former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh said the Mumbaikar should continue getting the chance to bat higher in the order more often.
“Shivam Dube’s hitting range is tremendous. Whenever the ball comes into his hitting arc, he dispatches it for a biggie. CSK banks a lot on players with such qualities. Shivam should continue to get opportunities to bat at the top,” Harbhajan said.
