Former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has arrived in Chennai for the upcoming season of the Indian T20 League. He recieved a grand welcome at the airport and he also clicked a photo with a little girl Dhoni will be leading the Chennai franchise and it is expected to be his last stint in the tournament.
Chennai is scheduled to play the opening match of the season against the defending champions Gujarat at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The 2023 Indian T20 League will be played across 12 cities. It will be the first time after 2019 that the tournament will be played all over India. Teams will be getting to play both home and away matches.
Former Chennai player Matthew Hayden stated that Dhoni’s performance this year will be crucial for the team as well as the fans. The former Australian also talked about the reception Dhoni will receive when he will walk onto the field at the Cheapauk stadium after three years.
"It will be an amazing moment. I think last year, we were all under the impression that will MSD come back again. At the close of the IPL season, he made that huge comment to say that he will be back. Now, what that means for all that Yellow Army is that Chennai suddenly galvanized a tad around the superior leader, who has done it for so long. This will, most certainly, I think, be the close of his IPL career. So, those few games at the start are not only going to be key for the fans, his performance is going to be key for CSK this season," said Hayden while talking to Star Sports.
Ben Stokes to replace Dhoni as the skipper!
England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been bought by Chennai for INR 16.25 crore in 2023, and it is believed that he will replace Dhoni as the franchise skipper in the future. Although, Stokes will miss the final few games for Chennai in order to prepare for the Ashes.
Chennai squad for the India T20 League 2023:
MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Subhranshu Senapati, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Choudhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Ajinkya Rahane, Ben Stokes, Shaik Rasheed, Nishant Sindhu, Kyle Jamieson, Ajay Mandal, Bhagath Varma.
Look how the Twitter reacter to Dhoni's arrival in Chennai:
King has arrived 💥🥳 pic.twitter.com/vCZx3T5crm
— DhoniFanRoshan 🦁 (@ItsRoshan124) March 2, 2023
We love you Mahi❤️😊 pic.twitter.com/gQMf68doLT
— The Boy From Mars (@TheBoyFromMars2) March 2, 2023
I wish, I could take a pic with him.
— Abdul Wahab Pakistani (@wahabAbdulpak) March 2, 2023
Thala Dharisanam 💛#MSDhoni #WhistlePodu #MSDhoni𓃵 #CSK pic.twitter.com/5M57kJlWsn
— Suersh Kumar (@imskj_0p) March 3, 2023
Thala 🥳💛#DencomingDay #MSDhoni #Dhoni #MSDhoni𓃵
— Atharvajaiswal07 (@ShibduStanXSum) March 3, 2023
Lions are Ready to Roar🦁🔥💛#ChennaiSuperKings #IPL2023 #MSDhoni
— Krishuuu💜✨ (@Sravu_Sravu) March 3, 2023
Video Credits:@jagadeeshDHFM01 pic.twitter.com/9IrO5S5FOF
Yes please 😶
— Harish Paliwal (@_harishpaliwal_) March 3, 2023
Instead of criticising just enjoy his presence 🥺❤️#IPL2023 #MSDhoni https://t.co/mg6XwpTdoO
Readying for practice 🤩💛🔥#MSDhoni #csk #WhistlePodu pic.twitter.com/EofouUQMfU
— Naveen_18 (@Naveeneditz18) March 3, 2023
😿 🤌 #MsDhoni https://t.co/UzM3sed8dj
— Dev ☠️ (@User_Changed_) March 3, 2023