Dhoni remains a towering figure in the IPL
– India’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni (right) may have signed off from international duties but he’ll be at the heart of the action in the Indian Premier League – a tournament he helped inspire, and where he remains a towering figure.
Dhoni, who has led the Chennai Super Kings to three titles and five runners-up finishes in the IPL’s 12 editions, will feature in the opening match on Saturday against the Mumbai Indians, the defending champions.
The game comes more than a year after the 39-year-old last played for India in their semifinal loss to New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup.
After much speculation, the wicketkeeper-batsman finally announced the end of his 16-year international career last month.
And without the pressure of having to play well to keep his place in the national team, the flamboyant Dhoni is expected to shine in UAE, the IPL’s temporary home as India battles a rampant coronavirus problem.
“He is very fit and I believe he is working very hard on it. Plus he has stopped playing international cricket so there will be less burden on his body,” Saba Karim, another former India wicketkeeper, said.
“Global cricket still needs an icon like MS Dhoni to continue.”
Dhoni’s captaincy began with India winning the inaugural T20 World Cup title in 2007, a success that triggered the birth of the IPL – the world’s most popular and richest cricket league – a year later.
“Dhoni played an instrumental role in kick-starting the IPL because of the way he brought a different dimension to the shorter format of the game because of his aggressive side with the willow,” Karim said. “Also with his calm exterior behind the stumps.”
Dhoni, once hailed as the world’s best finisher, has played 190 IPL matches, scoring 4 432 runs including 23 half-centuries.
An exemplary leader with fast glovework, Dhoni has made Chennai one of IPL’s most loved franchises with almost 200 000 people following the team’s fan club on Twitter.
“Dhoni is Chennai, Chennai is Dhoni. If Dhoni is doing well. Chennai is doing well,” veteran commentator Harsha Bhogle said on the Cricbuzz.com. website.