MS Dhoni remains lightning-quick as ever behind the stumps at 43 years of age, as his dismissals of Suryakumar Yadav and Phil Salt in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) would suggest. The same, however, cannot be said about the legendary wicketkeeper-batter’s exploits with the bat for Chennai Super Kings, who find themselves in the lower half of the points table after losing two out of three matches.
With his ability to run between the wickets severely limited due to a recent knee surgery, Dhoni’s contributions with the bat have largely come in the form of cameos late in the innings since 2023. And while die-hard CSK fans are willing to watch Dhoni compete at the age of 50 even if he is bound to a wheelchair, there are several experts and fans who feel ‘Captain Cool’ needs to call time on his career before he tarnishes his legacy as a player.
CSK fans pranked on April Fool’s Day
So when a viral post claimed Dhoni had finally announced his retirement, which many had expected him to make after winning his fifth IPL as CSK captain in 2023, it did create quite the flutter on social media.
Fortunately for CSK fans, especially those with their wheelchair fantasies, the post was shared on Tuesday, which happened to be April Fool’s Day. And the post was nothing but an attempt at pranking Indian cricket fans, whose devotion for their favourite teams and players is at a different level compared to other nations
It was by no means the only April Fool’s joke in the world of cricket on Tuesday, with Big Bash League coming up with an attempt of their own by announcing their signing of India and RCB superstar Virat Kohli.
Dhoni has scored 46 runs in three outings so far at a strike rate of 158.62, getting dismissed just once – off Sandeep Sharma’s bowling in the final over of CSK’s chase against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati. The numbers, however, don’t tell the full story, with ‘Thala’ yet to make a match-winning contribution with the bat.
And what made things worse for Dhoni was the decision to send R Ashwin ahead of him during their chase of the 197-run target set by Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Dhoni eventually walked out at No 9, but did not collect a boundary until the last two overs, at which point the target was already beyond CSK’s reach.
Dhoni eventually finished unbeaten on 30 off 16 balls, but that couldn’t stop the Super Kings from succumbing to a lop-sided defeat (50 runs).
Dhoni couldn’t go slam-bang from ball one against the Royals either. This time, however, ‘MSD’ briefly revived CSK’s hopes with a six and a four. The proven finisher was tasked with scoring 20 runs in the last six deliveries, but ended up getting caught at cow corner right after Sandeep started the over with a wide..
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