"You would suddenly turn around and see Dhoni on a bike" - CSK owner describes skipper's love for the city
MS Dhoni and his love for bikes has been well-documented over the years. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain has a good collection of them back home in Ranchi. However, this love also influences the relationship between the skipper and the city of Chennai.
CSK owner N. Srinivasan described how the captain had disappeared with a motorbike when he was given one on his arrival in the city. Speaking at Sportstar's South Sports Conclave, the former BCCI President said:
"We gave him [Dhoni] a motorbike because he likes motorbikes. He took it and disappeared."
"He has traveled the length and breadth of this city on his motorbike" - CSK owner on MS Dhoni
Srinivasan mentioned that Dhoni would turn up for matches out of nowhere on his motorbike and has traveled the entire city of Chennai. He believes that this endeared the skipper to the people of the city, leading to the special bond between the two. Srinivasan said:
"He rode all around the town. One of the reasons that he grew on Chennai and Chennai grew on him is the fact that whenever there was a match, you would suddenly turn around and see Dhoni on a bike next to you.
He has traveled the length and breadth of this city on his motorbike, which in its own way, endeared him to the people of this city."
MS Dhoni was CSK's first pick at the inaugural IPL Auction in 2008. Snapped up for a then-record sum of $ 1.5 million, the wicket-keeper batter has led the team in every edition, bar the two seasons in 2016 and 2017 when the franchise was suspended from the league.
Under the astute leadership of 'Captain Cool', who has now hung up his boots from international cricket, CSK have won the IPL trophy on four occasions apart from winning the Champions League T20 tournament twice.
Dhoni relinquished his captaincy duties just a couple of days prior to the start of IPL 2022, handing the mantle over to Ravindra Jadeja. With the latter's personal form and the Super Kings' fortunes plummeting, Jadeja handed the captaincy back to his predecessor for the last six games of the tournament.
CSK finished ninth in the IPL 2022 points table, just ahead of arch-rivals Mumbai Indians (MI) courtesy of a superior net run-rate. Prior to the team's last game this year, MS Dhoni confirmed that he would be returning to play for the franchise in 2023 and thanked the people of Chennai for their support over the years.