Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) captain MS Dhoni became the first player to feature in 200 IPL matches, when he stepped out on the Abu Dhabi ground for toss against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on October 19, 2020, in the ongoing IPL 2020.

Dhoni, who has been with the franchise since 2008, was bought for USD 1.5 million in the first-ever auction and has gone onto achieve a lot for the franchise. Apart from a couple of T20 Champions League title wins, Dhoni has led CSK to three IPL trophy victories as well in 2010,2011, and 2018.

Though he has played the majority of his matches for CSK, he played for Rising Pune Supergiant in two seasons in 2016 and 2017, when Chennai was suspended for two years.

IPL 2020: WATCH- “It’s just a number,” says MS Dhoni on becoming the first player to 200 IPL games

Apart from him, Suresh Raina is another player who has been a CSK loyal since 2008. If Dhoni is known as ‘Thala’, then Raina was dubbed ‘Chinna Thala’. Raina was the record holder for the most matches in IPL with 193 before Dhoni overtook him, as the left-hander opted out of the IPL 2020 due to personal reasons.

If he had played in the IPL 2020, Raina would have been the first to 200 IPL games. However, despite missing the tournament, Raina remembered his captain and took to Twitter to wish him on this big achievement.

Raina tweeted, “The first-ever player to play his 200th match in IPL, Best of luck for today @msdhoni Bhai .. Wishing you loads of success. You always make us proud #yellove#chennaisuperkings #whistlepodu”