Saurabh Somani
It starts from one and a half kilometres away. And from three hours before.
Chennai in April and May redefines what burning hot means, year on year. It has untapped potential: if you bundle up all the climate change deniers onto a Chennai sidewalk that is uncovered in the afternoon, they’ll be signing environment protection acts quicker than you can say ‘global warming’.
But 1.5 kms away from Chepauk, and three hours before an IPL game is scheduled to start, those sidewalks start teeming with people. Outside Chepauk, there’s no room for vehicles on one side of the road’s divider. It’s like the tar and concrete have suddenly become reflective surfaces for the sun, because it’s all yellow. Well, not all yellow. There is the blue emblazoned number “7” on the jerseys. And a name in blue below: “Dhoni”. Yellow sun in blue sky above, blue Dhoni in yellow shirts below.
The gates at Chepauk aren’t even open yet when the throng starts building up. In that fry-me-alive heat. The streets from 1.5kms away are lined with vendors selling the CSK jersey. It comes in all sizes, but only one number. Because no one wants to wear anything other than 7.
The Chennai Super Kings are out of IPL 2024. The question of whether this was MS Dhoni’s last-ever IPL as a player remains unanswered, and likely will continue to be unanswered till just before the retentions for next year’s IPL are announced. But this isn’t about whether Dhoni will be back in yellow or not. This is about what happened when he was in yellow this year.
Dhoni was an advanced 42 years old when IPL 2024 began. He batted 11 times for CSK, and faced more than ten balls only four times. On an average, he spent roughly ten minutes at the crease while batting. His ability to connect cleanly in those ten minutes was remarkable. Among those who faced at least 50 balls in this year’s IPL, only Jake Fraser-McGurk had a higher strike-rate (234) than Dhoni’s 221. He was ahead of Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Tristan Stubbs, Andre Russell, Heinrich Klaasen.
Of course it’s easier to sustain a high-strike rate over a lesser number of balls faced, and Dhoni’s 73 balls are a lot fewer than the other names took strike against. But it’s still remarkable in itself. If you had been told before the tournament that Dhoni would face only 73 balls overall, and asked to predict his runs tally, how many would have believed even triple digits was possible? Dhoni smacked 161 runs, having come into this tournament with no cricket since IPL 2023. Which he had come into with no cricket since IPL 2022. Which… you get the drift. He has played only the IPL since the 2019 World Cup.
Stephen Fleming, the CSK coach, said that Dhoni was carrying a knee injury into this tournament, which is why they tried to time his entry late into the innings. “I think everyone wants to see him for longer – as we do,” a smiling Fleming said after CSK’s first game against Lucknow Super Giants on April 19. “But that amount of time is about right. We need him for the tournament, and that two to three over cameo… he’s owning that space.”
Because Dhoni was owning that space and smashing the kind of cameos he was, the Dhoni devotees legion grew and grew. Not just in CSK’s home ground, but wherever they played, his entry was greeted by the loudest roars. The only venue where the stands weren’t flooded with the sea of yellow jersey wearing fans was the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. But even there, the split between red and yellow was equal, and even there, the cheers that greeted Dhoni’s arrival at the crease came from a full house.
But while the reception was cacophonic everywhere, in Chennai, it was pandemonium. CSK have possibly the most passionate and loyal fans of any franchise. Their support for their team has to be experienced to be believed. They cheer, they hoot, they holler, they rise, they fall, and they’re always willing their team to win. Well, not always. Even that fandom is subsumed by a desire to see their favourite. For about 18 overs of a CSK innings, the audience in Chepauk are completely in thrall to the team. And then, as if by magic, they shift in unison to be in thrall to one man. For those last few minutes, the away team might start feeling as if they are playing at home. The ball going up in the air is cheered if it looks like it will be caught. A missed direct hit run-out is greeted by collective groans. And a wicket brings the loudest roar of all, because they know that the next man in is going to be the one they call their ‘Thala’. It doesn’t matter if the man out is Shivam Dube, who has been hitting sixes for fun. Or if it’s Ruturaj Gaikwad, who is the captain this year and whose big runs at the top did much to keep CSK afloat. The Dhoni entry supersedes all those considerations.
After a point, it was almost as if you had to be seen cheering yourself hoarse. You had to erupt even if he was shown on screen. A mix of devotion and passion certainly, but perhaps with a pinch of FOMO and herd mentality. It still made for an experience like no other.
With the future uncertain, it could well be that the 25 off 13 Dhoni got against RCB on May 18 will be his final innings. If it was his last dance, it’ll be poetic that Dhoni’s last scoring shot was a monstrous 110-metre six over backward square leg that sent the ball out of the stadium. It was this kind of brutal hitting that first got him recognition.
It might have felt like a rockstar’s farewell tour, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Dhoni returns in IPL 2025. It wouldn’t be surprising if he doesn’t return, either. That too, is just like it always was. As he has throughout his career, even at the close, MS Dhoni’s still bringing out the big hits and the inscrutability.
