It is another season for the Indian Premier League, and once again, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the center of attention. On the eve of the season opener match of the Chennai Super Kings against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Dhoni gave away his captaincy duties to the opener of CSK Ruturaj Gaikwad, and it created waves among fans.
The veteran has been a constant in the playing 11 of the Chennai Super Kings this season but has batted only twice because of his low position in the batting order. In the first match of IPL 2024 when Dhoni batted, his team lost to DC by 20 runs.
Despite the defeat, Mahendra Singh Dhoni slammed an unbeaten knock of 37 runs in 16 balls, which was packed with four boundaries and 36s, sending the crowd in Vizag into a state of meltdown. Chennai Super Kings managed to reach 171 at the loss of six wickets in 20 overs in their chase of 192 runs against capitals. Then he batted once again on Friday but faced only two balls and took a single as CSK lost by six wickets against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
While commenting on the performance of the 42-year-old batsman and wicketkeeper Dhoni in Vizag, Michael Vaughan labeled it his farewell tour. The England legend also compared him to Jurgen Klopp, who is going to quit as the manager of Liverpool after this season.
Michael said, “It has to be Mahendra Singh Dhoni to score 37 runs in 16 balls from the whole ground. One should always remember that it was an away game for the Chennai Super Kings, all in yellow. They are saying this kind of farewell to him, trying to get a glimpse of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Probably he will play another year and another year after that, but they all just want to go and see Dhoni.”
He further said, “I kind of look at Jurgen Klopp in England. As Klopp said goodbye to Liverpool, there are 10 games left, and all the fans of Liverpool are just going for One Last Chance to try and say goodbye. The fans of the Chennai Super Kings are doing exactly the same thing with Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Chennai Super Kings are currently in the third position in the points table of the Indian Premier League season 2024, with 4 points in 4 matches consistent of two victories and two defeats. The defending champions are on a two-match losing streak and are going to face the Kolkata Knight Riders in their upcoming match on Monday.
