Chennai, May 18: The crowd at Chepauk came alive on Monday night after Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped onto the field during Chennai Super Kings' match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2026. Even though Dhoni was not part of the playing XI because of an injury, fans gave him a massive welcome during the mid-innings break.
As the innings break began, MS Dhoni walked onto the ground with the rest of the CSK squad for a team photograph near the boundary line. The moment he appeared on the big screen, loud chants of "Dhoni, Dhoni" echoed around the MA Chidambaram Stadium, with fans cheering wildly for the CSK legend.
Videos of the moment quickly went viral on social media, with many fans calling it one of the most emotional scenes of the season. Since this was CSK's final home game of IPL 2026, supporters were eager to catch a glimpse of "Thala" despite him not playing the match.
Earlier during the toss, former India coach Ravi Shastri had asked CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad if Dhoni would play against SRH. The question itself received a huge reaction from the crowd before Gaikwad confirmed that Dhoni was still not fit enough to return to action.
While Dhoni stayed on the sidelines, Chennai Super Kings posted 180/7 after batting first. Pat Cummins led the SRH bowling attack with three wickets, while Sakib Hussain picked up two important scalps. Dewald Brevis scored 44 runs for CSK, helping the team reach a competitive total in the important clash.
