The next edition of the Indian T20 League is still a fair way away but Chennai’s skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has already begun the preparations for the T20 extravaganza. The 2023 season could be MS Dhoni’s last and the former India skipper will be keen to end on a high note.
Dhoni has time and again said that he wants to play once in Chennai before retiring from the major league and his wish will come true in the next season as the Indian Cricket Board already confirmed that the next edition of the league will be played in a home and away format.
In the previous season, Dhoni scored 232 runs in 14 matches at an average of 33 as the Chennai-based franchise endured a horrible run as and failed to reach the playoffs. Dhoni remains one of the biggest draws in the cash-rich league but his powers with the bat have been on the wane since 2019. He scored 416 runs in the 2019 season at a strike rate of 134.62 but since then, he has managed tournament tallies of 114 runs and 232 runs in the 2020 and 2021 tournaments.
Chennai’s bad run in the previous season
He had stepped down as the franchise’s captain at the beginning of last season, thus marking a temporary end to his tenure that had started in the inaugural season of the tournament, but returned to the position after Ravindra Jadeja vacated it with the team enduring a horrendous run of form.
Widely rated as one of India’s most successful captains of all time, Dhoni is the only skipper to have won the T20 World Cup, the World Cup, and the Champions Trophy. He also was captain when India became the No.1 ranked Test team for the first time ever in 2008. With the bat, he was known for his prowess as a finisher but was also known to play some destructive innings across format. Dhoni was also recognized as one of the best wicketkeepers of his generation.
Here’s how the fans reacted:
Unadkat already shivering
— Virarsh (@Cheeku218) January 19, 2023
Babbar Sher laut aaya hai
— Cricketbugs (@Cricketbugs0) January 19, 2023
White Thigh pad to give tribute to Test cricket
— Htx45 (@tarnetino) January 19, 2023
Dhoni bhai the game has changed a lot now.
Plz do not practice forward defence n all— CSK🏆JSK (@BoomSla20617174) January 19, 2023
Loading…. pic.twitter.com/FHSH5tkGzz
— Bhargav (@Bhargavrampbc) January 19, 2023
One last dance!
— saravanan (@Saravana_23) January 19, 2023
Thala practising even 2 months before the start of IPL👏😶
— Kohli.world18 (@sakethking18) January 19, 2023
Kya faayda practice ka Varun chakravarthy ki 1st ball par hi out hona hai
— Luckyy (@oyeluckyy_) January 19, 2023
Advantage to every team 😅 pic.twitter.com/7SFOUZTsm4
— alien (@149off44_) January 19, 2023
