Mahendra Singh Dhoni seems to have turned the clock back as far his hitting performances are concerned at IPL 2023. One thing that has never changed is his popularity as ‘Dhoni Dhoni’ chants have engulfed every stadium the IPL is being played in, irrespective of the city and sometimes even irrespective of the teams playing.
Chepauk Stadium, which is Dhoni and the Chennai Super Kings’ home venue, saw similar scenes as the crowds showered the ex-India captain with much adulation, as he along with teammates engaged in a special lap of honour.
Only thing is, CSK lost the match to KKR by 6 wickets.
So was this final victory lap for the Indian legend, in what could be his final appearance in the IPL?
With his knee strapped, Dhoni and co. tossed team jerseys and tennis balls into the crowd with a racquet, as people took selfies and autographs from the team.
The lap could well be because it was CSK’s final league game at home and there’s an outside chance that it was the team’s final outing at IPL 2023 or Dhoni’s final outing on a cricket field.
Fprmer India batter and ace fielder Mohammad Kaif noted, ‘I think MSD has given enough hints that this is his last IPL. Hes keeping the world guessing and thats been his nature. But I have this intuition that Dhoni will not be playing the IPL next year.’
India legend Sunil Gavaskar, who is part of the commentary panel, also joined in and got his shirt signed as the two legends shared a hug after.
‘A great like Sunil Gavaskar taking the autograph on his shirt from Dhoni just tells the greatness of MS Dhoni,’ Kaif said.
‘We have never seen Sunny sir taking an autograph of any other cricketer.’ he added.
CSK had a great chance of sealing a play-offs berth but the defeat against KKR means that it has become a bit more difficult to make the final four.
A win in their next fixture against Delhi Capitals will definitely help their chances of going forward in the tournament.
CSK are currently placed second with 15 points from 13 matches.