Courtesy: X
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) star player MS Dhoni enjoys a massive fan base in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Riding on his magnificent fan following, Chennai have maintained exceptional support in the league, which started in 2008. In recent years, it has witnessed fans go berserk to watch Dhoni bat for Chennai. In CSK’s IPL 2025 opening game against Mumbai Indians (MI), when Ravindra Jadeja got dismissed, CSK fans were seen jubilating as they were excited to watch Dhoni, who was the next man to walk into the middle.
Before Chennai's crucial IPL 2025 match against Royal Challengers Bengalaru (RCB) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on March 28, former CSK stalwart Ambati Rayudu recently appeared in an interview with ESPNcricinfo and indicated Chennai are heavily banking on Dhoni’s popularity. "It is quite strange, and I don’t think it actually serves the game well. It is quite daunting if you're a newcomer. It's quite loud. The support is phenomenal. But, as you go on and play, then you realise they are MS Dhoni fans before CSK fans. It is quite evident, and rightly so, because that's the way the team has been set up and built over the years,” said Rayudu to ESPNcricinfo.
Rayudu feels Dhoni’s massive popularity becomes intimidating for other players of the Yellow Army. "It’s been happening for quite a few years now, and quite a few players have felt it over the years, you know, if not come out openly and said something about it, but internally, a lot of people used to feel that the crowd. Even though we also love MS Dhoni, and they also love MS Dhoni, and we want to see him bat, but sometimes when you, as an individual, are going out to bat, they are shouting from the crowd to… literally asking you to get out. Or they are anticipating or expecting you to get out," added the 39-year-old.
Rayudu warns CSK of their over-reliance on MS Dhoni
Noting Dhoni’s colossal support base, Rayudu has warned the franchise about the upcoming time, when the 2011 World Cup winner will retire from the sport. "It will be quite challenging. Not only for the players or Chennai, but definitely for the franchise itself, because for them to [attract] crowd like that, especially even on weekdays – the stands are full, the engagement is amazing; there is no cricketer close to him, to be honest," said the former India player.
He also highlighted CSK's failure to produce any other player who could help them maintain popularity after Dhoni's exit from the franchise in the future. "They have not built up any other guy in the franchise to pull the crowds, because it has always revolved around MS Dhoni. That might come back to maybe bite them in terms of branding or getting the crowds in. So they will have to really think out of the box to make something happen," remarked Rayudu.
