Celebrating ‘Thala’ Dhoni as he sets to enter the field as CSK captain for the 200th time

As Chennai Super Kings (CSK) prepare to take on the Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, skipper MS Dhoni will hit another record in IPL as he is set to record his 200th appearance as the captain of CSK. Dhoni will become the first such player in the history of the tournament to lead the team in 200 matches.

In his capacity as captain, Dhoni has exhibited a remarkable level of leadership and strategic acumen, as evidenced by his outstanding win percentage of 58.96 in the 213 matches he has led in the 16 years of IPL.

Recently, Dhoni also became the seventh player in IPL to complete 5,000 runs and the player joined the likes of young Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Warner, Rohit Sharma, Raina, and AB de Villiers.

On that note, let’s take a moment and look back at MS Dhoni’s journey as the CSK Captain. And why all of us wish that his legacy continues for years to come.

Why is MS Dhoni even playing IPL despite his international retirement?

MS Dhoni is at that stage of his career where he has probably achieved everything that one aspires to play cricket for. He has represented the country at the highest level, starred with the bat and as a leader in probably the biggest match at the international level- the ODI World Cup final, led his country to many memorable triumphs and has even led his franchise to as many as four IPL titles.

Nothing but his passion to perform and his love for the game continues to be the driving factor for him to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) despite having announced his retirement from international cricket in 2020.

What sets MS Dhoni a class apart from the rest of the CSK Captains?

The CSK Squad also known as Whistle Podu, is the second most successful franchise in IPL, winning the title four times under the leadership of ‘Captain Cool’ Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

The 41-year-old has captained on 213 occasions in the tournament, winning 125 matches, and losing 87 with one match ending without a result. With a win percentage close to 59 apart from all the trophies in his cabinet in the history of the IPL, there is no doubt about his legacy as one of the most successful skippers in the league. Other than the CSK, Dhoni also led the now-defunct franchise the Rising Pune Supergiants for one season in which the team could only manage five wins and lost the other nine games to finish seventh on the points table.

As far as his captaincy for CSK alone is concerned, in 199 matches, he has led the team to 120 wins, 78 losses and one game without a result. Chennai would want to make this  memorable match for their captain by registering a win.

Apart from winning four IPL titles, CSK under Dhoni’s captaincy also won the now defunct Champions League title twice, in 2010 and 2014 respectively.

Thala Dhoni says ‘thank you’ to Chennai

Dhoni, who has led CSK to four IPL titles, will be close to 42 during this IPL season. But, the cricketer is still a vital cog for them.

Notably, the talismanic leader, who has led CSK since the inception of IPL in 2008, had relinquished his captaincy just two days before IPL 2022 started and handed it to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. However, CSK didn’t produce great results under Jadeja and he gave back the captaincy duties to Dhoni midway into IPL 2022 for the remainder of the season.

During IPL 2022, the world Cup-winning captain had also confirmed that he will continue playing for the four-time winners, saying that it would be unfair to not say ‘thank you’ to Chennai and the CSK fans if he doesn’t say goodbye in front of them.

“Definitely. It’s a simple reason: it will be unfair to not play in Chennai and say thank you,” Dhoni had said.

WATCH: A Rare Moment when Captain Cool looses his Cool

Jadeja hails Dhoni as the ‘legend of Indian cricket’ as he reaches a rare milestone as CSK captain

With MS Dhoni registering the huge feat of leading CSK for the 200th time, veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja said to the reporters on Tuesday. “What can I say? He is a legend of not only CSK, but he is also a legend of Indian cricket. I would like to wish him good luck. Hopefully, we will win the game tomorrow and give it as a gift to him on his 200th match as captain. Hope to continue the momentum of how we have played in the last two games.”

After a disastrous last season where they finished in ninth place, Dhoni-led CSK will be aiming to make a strong comeback in IPL 2023.

Thank you for reading.