Former India captain MS Dhoni, who has not played professional cricket since India’s shock exit from the semifinal of the ICC World Cup 2019 in England, joined the Chennai Super Kings camp ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL), set to be played from March 29.
The 38-year-old was greeted by his old friend Suresh Raina as CSK took to their official Twitter handle to share a video of the moment.
Me3t and Gree7 – Everyday is Karthigai in our House, a film by Vikraman Sir. #StartTheWhistles 🦁💛 pic.x.com/sJz77Nnakr
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) March 3, 2020
Dhoni and Raina have been loyal compatriots of each other for a long time and have been part of the Chennai franchise since the inception of the cash-rich league. Thus it came as a no surprise that the two greeted each other with a hug and Raina placed a kiss on his captain’s neck.
Meanwhile, the World Cup-winning captain received hero’s welcome in Chennai on Monday before he attended his first net session with the Yellow Army amid huge fanfare.
CSK shared a video of Dhoni taking guard at the nets with the crowd which turned out to watch him train at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium chanting his name. “A grand waltz to take guard,” said the tweet along with the video.
A grand waltz to take guard! #StartTheWhistles #SuperTraining 🦁💛 pic.x.com/tQbDqqnmT2
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) March 2, 2020
The 13th edition of IPL starts on March 29 with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on the Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium in what will be Dhoni’s first game after an eight-month sabbatical.