Former Team India and Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni reacted to social media trend 'Thala For A Reason' started by his fans. Dhoni is one of the biggest household names in Indian cricket, admired not just remarkable achievements but also for calm demeanour and leadership qualities.
Dhoni has been revered by the people of Tamil Nadu as he led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to five IPL titles, which is a joint-record alongside Mumbai Indians. Having been part of CSK over the last 16 years, MS Dhoni earned the sobriquet ' Thala' which translated into 'leader', symbolizing his deep rooted connection with the fans in Tamil Nadu.
Speaking at the event, MS Dhoni said that he was unaware of the trend and thanked his fans for defending him on social media.
"Even I got to know about this via Instagram. So, I'm grateful for my fans as I don't have to defend myself on social media. Whenever I needed to defend my fans do it. Whenever needed my fans praise me. So I'm not required to do anything I guess so this was part of this too." Dhoni said.
"I'm grateful to my fans. Even though I'm not very active social media user, still they wait for me to post and they just love it." he added.
MS Dhoni is regarded as one of the greatest captains in the history of cricket, having led Team India to three ICC titles, 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy. Dhoni retired from international cricket in August 2020. The veteran wicketkeeper-batter's last appearance in the Indian jersey was in the 2019 World Cup semifinal, where the Men in Blue lost to New Zealand.
After the international retirement, MS Dhoni continued to grace the IPL arena. Ahead of IPL 2024, Dhoni decided to relinquish his captaincy and passed the baton to Ruturaj Gaikwad. However, under Gaikwad's captaincy, CSK failed to qualify for the playoffs as they finished fifth in the league stage of the tournament.
MS Dhoni on his future in IPL
After Chennai Super Kings had a disappointing end to their IPL 2024 campaign, the speculations were making rounds that MS Dhoni had played last season of the cash-rich franchise T20 league.
MS Dhoni hadn't uttered a single word about his future in the IPL. However, Dhoni has finally broken his silence over his future in the tournament, stating that he will take the call depending on the players' retention rules and regulations,
"We have to see what decision they take on player retention - right now, ball is not in our court. So once the rules & regulations get formalised, I will take the call but it needs to be in the best interest of the team." former CSK skipper said at an event.
In IPL, Dhoni has amassed 5243 runs, including 24 fifties, at an average of 39.13 and an average of 137.54 in 264 matches.
