He might be at the twilight of his professional cricket career, but the craze for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni hasn’t gone down one bit.
On Monday (May 29), Dhoni led CSK to a record-equalling fifth IPL title by defeating Gujarat Titans (GT) in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
During the triumphant campaign, Dhoni received a rousing reception from the fans every time he set foot on the field. Be it Chepauk, Chinnaswamy, Eden Gardens or Wankhede, the chants of 'Dhoni Dhoni' echoed in the stadiums.
After the IPL 2023, the madness for Dhoni has been witnessed in Chhattisgarh, where a fan printed the CSK captain’s photo on both sides of his wedding card, along with the iconic No. 7. He also included the word "Thala" to express his admiration.
The ardent fan named Deepak Patel, hailing from Kondkel village in Milupara, also sent a copy of his wedding card to Dhoni. His unique act of devotion garnered quite a buzz on social media.
Talking about MS Dhoni, he underwent successful knee surgery on Thursday (June 1) and the operation was successful.
Notably, Dhoni entered IPL 2023 with an ailing knee. He had to wear a kneecap right through the tournament. The 41-year-old was also seen with heavy strappings on the left knee when he said thank you to the crowd in Chennai after CSK’s final league match at Chepauk.
Following the IPL 2023 triumph, Dhoni said it won’t be easy for him to play one more IPL season but he will try his best to give a gift to his fans.
“Looking for an answer? Circumstantially if you see, this is the best time to announce my retirement. But the amount of love and affection I have been shown wherever I have been this year, the easy thing would be for me to say "Thank you very much", but the tough thing for me is to work hard for another 9 months and come back and play at least 1 more season of IPL. A lot depends on the body, I have 6-7 months to decide. It will be more like a gift from my side, it's not easy for me but that's a gift. The way they've shown their love and affection, I think that's something I need to do for them,” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation.
(India Today Inputs)
