On Tuesday, former Indian team captain MS Dhoni made a rare public appearance at Trent Bridge to mark his 45th birthday. When Dhoni was spotted in the stands during the third Twenty20 International between India and England, the fans erupted in applause.

Dhoni gave a traditional answer to a fan, miming, "I'm old now. I can hardly walk, and my beard has turned grey.”

Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar used the opportunity to welcome the smiling veteran on-air as the broadcast cameras shifted to him.

“Oh, here is the birthday boy, MS Dhoni. He turns 45 today, yet he still looks like a 26-year-old. From my side, I'd like to wish a very, very happy birthday to the greatest captain India has ever seen. I hope he plays one more IPL season for CSK because I want to see him in the yellow jersey one last time,” Gavaskar said on-air.

Notably, MS Dhoni was part of the CSK squad for the IPL 2026 season but didn’t play a single match due to a calf injury and then a thumb injury. The five-time IPL-winning captain has scored 5,439 runs in 278 matches.

MS Dhoni’s last appearance in India colors came in the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, where he was run out for a fifty. After it was confirmed that the T20 World Cup that was to be held in 2020 had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket in August 2020.