Mahendra Singh Dhoni has a cult fan following across India. While he is someone who people from all states of the country would identify, his popularity has grown by leaps and bounds in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu ever-since he stated captaining the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
He has led the team in every season that the team has participated in, leading them to the title in as many as four season apart from the Champions League triumphs. And now while reacting to a picture from 2016 in which he can be seen posing like another superstar from the south of India- actor Rajnikanth- Dhoni opened up on his admiration for the 72-year-old.
"There's no comparison. We were just trying to copy a great pose by a great man. So nothing beyond that, because it's very difficult to think like him or do stuff like him. But at least we can copy the pose," Dhoni says in response to a question on where did he seek the inspiration from for the viral Rajnikanth pose. Later when he was told that it was not possible to think like him, India's World-Cup winning captain said that it might hold true on the field.
In IPL 2023 so far, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have played five matches and registered 3 wins and 2 defeats. Owing to their net run rate of +0.265, the Men in Yellow find themselves at the third place on the points table. CSK had finished ninth on the table last season and with several reports suggesting this could be Dhoni's final year as a player in the T20 competition, it is important for the franchise to finish on a high to give their captain a fitting tribute. However, nothing regarding Dhoni's IPL retirement yet has been made official by either the team or the franchise.