5 times a cricketer heaped heavy praise on the Chennai crowd ft. MS Dhoni, Tabraiz Shamsi
International cricket will return to Chennai next week when the MA Chidambaram Stadium hosts the first Test of the two-match India vs Bangladesh series. The match will take place from September 19 to 23, and will be the first Test in Chennai since early 2021.
Chennai is famous for producing a spin-friendly track and attracting a 'knowledgeable' crowd to the stadium for. Even when the Indian team is not playing, people show up in large numbers at the MA Chidambaram Stadium and appreciate top-quality cricket without any bias.
Several cricketers have showered praise on the MA Chidambaram Stadium crowd in the past. Here's a list of five of them:
#1 Tabraiz Shamsi picked MA Chidambaram Stadium as his favorite Indian ground
South African wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi has played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. However, he picked Chennai Super Kings' home ground as his favorite Indian venue in a recent Q and A session on X.
“Chennai. The crowd is really knowledgeable and appreciates good plays from both teams during the game no matter who is playing," Shamsi replied when asked his favorite Indian ground.
#2 Sachin Tendulkar recalled his playing days in Chennai in 2017
Popularly known as the 'God of Cricket', Sachin Tendulkar played a lot of matches in Chennai. He even bought the Chennai-based Tamil Thalaivas team in the Pro Kabaddi League. Speaking about his connection with Chennai, Sachin said in 2017:
"Whenever I came and played here, Chennai was always warm, full of love and full of support."
#3 MS Dhoni ignores his personal achievement to praise the MA Chidambaram Stadium and the crowd
Chennai Super Kings legend MS Dhoni has had a special connection with the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Last year, when Dhoni came out to lead CSK for the 200th time, Ravi Shastri asked him about his feelings. Dhoni did not brag about his achievement, but instead heaped praise on the crowd and stadium, saying:
"It feels good, but the crowd has been fantastic. When we started playing at the old stadium, it was hot and humid, but now it is cooler and feels like playing in Switzerland. When people come here, they feel it will be hot and humid, but it has changed now."
#4 Sam Billings was in awe of the Chennai crowd
England wicketkeeper batter Sam Billings had a short stint with CSK in IPL. In 2018, when Billings helped the Super Kings win a home match against the Kolkata Knight Riders, he praised the local fans for the love they showered on the franchise.
"It means a lot to me, of course to the team, and even more to the fans. We saw their passion, in the practice game we saw 10,000 people, Dhoni wasn’t even here, he was in Mumbai for the captain’s meet. That shows how much it means to people in this part of the world," Billings said.
#5 Inzamam-ul-Haq labeled the cheers from Chennai crowd as 'unforgettable'
Back in 2020, former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq had a chat with Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel. They discussed the Chennai Test match between India and Pakistan from the 1999 series. Inzamam recalled the way the crowd praised the away team for putting up a show and said:
"One thing that is unforgettable about the match is the feeling we had of playing at home ground. After winning the match, we took the full round of the ground and the crowd applauded us as if it were India who won the match."
Ashwin will play in the upcoming first Test between India and Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. It will be exciting to see how the all-rounder performs in that match.