Is Dhoni-mania affecting rest of Chennai Super Kings? Here's what ex-CSK batter Rayudu said

Few athletes command the kind of devotion from their fans as legendary wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni does, to the point where they almost worship him. And since he announced his retirement from international cricket in 2020, Dhoni’s playing time has been limited to Indian Premier League that takes place over a two-month window in the summer.

Fans, especially those at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, understandably go berserk every time he makes an appearance on the ground for Chennai Super Kings – whether to keep wickets for 20 overs or to face a handful of deliveries. However, the trend of CSK fans cheering the fall of a wicket right before Dhoni walks out to bat isn’t something that is appreciated by everyone.

Former Chennai Super Kings batter Ambati Rayudu, who had starred in the team’s triumph in the 2023 edition that happened to be Dhoni’s last season as CSK captain, isn’t a fan of the trend that has grown stronger and become more evident in recent seasons.

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“It is quite strange, and I don’t think it actually serves the game well. It is quite daunting if you’re a newcomer. It’s quite loud. The support is phenomenal. But, as you go on and play, then you realise they are MS Dhoni fans before they are CSK fans. It is quite evident, and rightly so, because that’s the way the team has been set up and built over the years,” Rayudu, who had represented CSK’s arch-rivals Mumbai Indians before joining the ‘Yellow Army’, told ESPNCricinfo.

“He’s rightly named Thala and he has been calling the shots in CSK, and it’s come to a stage where people are madly in awe and in love of what he’s done for CSK,” he added.

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The trend was evident in CSK's opening game of the 2025 Indian Premier League , against MI at Chepauk. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was run-out after a mix-up with Rachin Ravindra with CSK needing only a handful runs to chase down the 156-run target set by the Suryakumar Yadav-led side.

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Jadeja was met with a deafening roar on his way back to the CSK dugout as ‘MSD’, who was expected to retire after leading CSK to their fifth title in 2023 and also in the subsequent season, walked out to bat with the game already in the bag.

Rayudu added that quite a few players have found this behaviour from fans to be strange.

“It’s been happening for quite a few years now, and quite a few players have felt it over the years. You know, if not come out openly and said something about it, but internally, a lot of people used to feel that the crowd.

“Even though we also love MS Dhoni, and they also love MS Dhoni, and we want to see him bat, but sometimes when you, as an individual, are going out to bat, they are shouting from the crowd to… literally asking you to get out. Or they are anticipating or expecting you to get out,” he added.

Rayudu, who represented India in 55 ODIs and 6 T20Is between 2013 and 2019, added that only Dhoni can address the issue by convincing his fans to cheer for his teammates as well.

“The best person who can address that is MS Dhoni himself. If he comes out and says, ’they are all our players, and just like me batting they are batting in the middle’, or something like that to soothe the crowd, it will be great for the players,” he added.