CHENNAI: A wave of emotion is building around Monday’s visit to MA Chidambaram Stadium, with plenty of speculation over whether MS Dhoni will appear in action for what could be his final time at the iconic venue. Dhoni arrived late for training on Sunday, got ready with the rest of the session, went through pads and a brief warm-up, and then moved straight to the nets. The familiar sight followed—big, clean hits over the boundary, the sort of striking Dhoni has been known for across years of Chennai Super Kings summers.
Even with the anticipation, Chennai Super Kings have not offered clarity on whether the former captain will take part in the match. There has, however, been a strong expectation that if he does not play, he will still carry out the usual supporter-facing activities he completes after the team’s home stretch each year. Dhoni’s absence during parts of the season has been felt in the middle overs, with his calf injury keeping him sidelined for stretches. Yet his value to the squad has remained clear, particularly through his experience and the guidance he shares within the group.
Before practice on Sunday, Dhoni spoke with those present about his advice to captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. He said his message was straightforward: that leadership should reflect the captain’s own instincts and decision-making. “What I told Rutu was to run CSK the way he wanted to run it. That’s how I have run CSK for a very long time. And I always felt it’s a game where the captain has to make the decisions. Yes, there are coaches and support staff, but it’s not like football where the manager decides. In cricket, it’s about the captain and he has to decide,” Dhoni explained.
Dhoni also stressed that while there is room to learn from past experiences, the captain still has to define his own identity on the field. “Yes, there will be certain things that he will pick up from the way I used to lead. But individuals are different… Whatever you feel is your style, you have the full liberty here to decide,” he said.
The 44-year-old further described how he approaches offering guidance. He explained that he is willing to speak and share ideas, but expects the leader to own the responsibility for what gets executed. “I’m very open, I’ll come and talk to you, but you don’t have to do even one thing that I speak to you about. Let’s say I come up with ten pieces of advice, if you don’t follow even one, that is fair enough. When you are the leader, you have to take that responsibility. As a leader, you see the resources that you have and how you want to use it,” Dhoni added.
Reflecting on his own captaincy, Dhoni—who led the franchise to five titles—reiterated that he has always pushed a “cricket first” mindset. “We are someone who believes in concentrating more on cricket. Yes, we have had to do a lot of other things that are surrounding cricket, but as a franchisee, we know that our essence is cricket and we should stick to that,” he said at an event organized by Etihad, one of the team’s sponsors.
Dhoni’s connection with fans remained another key topic, and he explained that he never chased attention for the sake of it. “In my case, I never wanted to woo fans or have more followers. I just wanted to be authentic. Once you are authentic, people start loving you and they start picking up things that they love about you,” he said, underlining a lesson that can resonate with today’s social-media-driven athletes.
He also pointed to the role of sustained support in big moments. “The support of the fans matters, when the chips are down, you can get that extra 10-15% from the crowd,” Dhoni said, capturing why Chennai’s home atmosphere has often been a decisive factor for CSK across seasons.
