Four-time Indian Premier League winning skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, set to lead mega franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for probably the last time, received a hero's welcome by his die-hard fans when he arrived at Chennai airport. 'Thala' Dhoni will return to action after a long gap of 10 months ever since playing his last competitive cricket match in May 2022. The much-loved 'Yellow Army' will aim to enter at least the final four after a forgettable season last year.
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CSK took to Twitter to post pic of Dhoni arriving at a hotel as soon as he reached there. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will go up against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 opener on March 31. The franchise will start its pre-season training camp on Friday, March 3. Senior players Ajinkya Rahane and Ambati Rayudu will be part of this camp.
"Thala Dharisanam, finally!" CSK captioned the post.
MS Dhoni has so far scored 4,978 runs in 234 IPL matches. This year, the veteran has a chance to become the seventh batsman to score 5,000 runs in the tournament.
CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz: "Before the auction, BCCI told us that England players will be available for the entire IPL." CSK's 16.25 crore signee Ben Stokes, England Test captain, suffered a knee injury during Eng vs NZ 2nd Test, leaving fans worried. However, after the match got over, Stokes, in the post-match press conference, confirmed his participation in IPL 2023.
Another major concern for CSK is availability of New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson, who might struggle to attain full fitness in time due to his back injury.