Will Thala and Co. roar in UAE?

Dream opportunity for CSK to level up with MI for who knows that this season might be the last IPL under Mahi’s captaincy.

On the eve of India’s 74th Independence Day, Mahendra Singh Dhoni put up a video on his Instagram and announced his retirement. Without any media outrage, without any press conference, without a farewell speech, M.S. Dhoni finished off in style. The video consisted of images of him along with his teammates throughout his cricketing career with his favourite song as background – “Main pal do pal ka shayar hoon” from the movie “Kabhi Kabhie”.

Picture courtesy: Monster.com/

From 19 hours 29 mintues on 15th August’20, time stopped for the entire cricketing fraternity. Even though everyone knew Dhoni’s retirement is around the corner, but when that moment arrived, every human who’s associated with cricket be it as a player or a fan felt a huge void in their heart.

Our Captain cool has been the most successful captain for India. He has brought back home all the ICC (International Cricket Council) trophies.

“And as a captain, he is quite conservative in his tactics. But he waits for you to make a mistake and then the cobra goes for the squeeze. People will always remember what he has done. He will be in my top five Indian players of all time,” said Dean Jones, former Australian cricketer in a recent episode of Star Sports’ chat show Cricket Connected.

Dhoni is popularly known as the finisher when it comes to chasing the scoreboard. We already miss his aerial shots especially his helicopter shot. One of the biggest coincidences of Dhoni’s career is that he was run out in his debut as well as in the last One Day International (ODI) match that he played.

“Dhoni finishes off in style. India lifts the World Cup after 28 years of long wait” – Ravi Shashtri, the then commentator.
Picture courtesy : Scoopwoop.com/

Following the footsteps of Thala, Chinna thala, also announced his retirement from international cricket minutes after Dhoni. Since then everyone is eager to watch Suresh Raina play alongside Mahi for Dream11 IPL 2020, which according to sources, might be the last IPL for M.S. Dhoni.

“I think this tournament will be extra special for everyone – the players as well as the audience…watching Dhoni back on the pitch is sure to be a delight. There’s so much in store, need I say more?” Virender Sehwag said.

Picture courtesy: Twitter/ChennaiIPL

IPL is just another national festival for all the crazy cricket fans in the country. Although the tournament is shifted to UAE, we are on the edge of our seats. But as good things are momentary, CSK received a big blow when 13 members from their management including Deepak Chahar, a very crucial pacer for the Super Kings, were tested positive for COVID-19.

Just when they managed to balance the team, Suresh Raina, middle order batsman and a terrific fielder, and Harbhajan Singh, spinner, pulled themselves out from the tournament owning to personal reasons.

“We will miss our senior players but at the same time, it is an opportunity for others to stand up and prove themselves. We are confident of doing the job well with what we have,” CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told PTI.

After recovering from coronavirus, Deepak Chahar has started training again. He had to undergo a cardiovascular test as per BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) procedures and after BCCI’s nod, he has entered the bio-bubble as of 9th September’20. He also furnished certificates of two COVID-19 negative test results.

“He will start training from today (10th Sept’20). He has got necessary clearance from BCCI. The team is training hard and in good shape. We are looking forward to our first game,” CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told PTI.

The Super Kings maintaining social distance during team discussions

Picture courtesy: Twitter/ChennaiIPL

As per IPL statistics report of the Times of India (TOI), Chennai Super Kings has has the highest winning percentage of 60.61 for the 10 seasons that they played.

Chennai Super Kings is a synonym for consistency. The yellow brigade is the most consistent team in the Indian Premier League, reaching the play-off stage in every season they have been a part of.

Super Kings have lifted the IPL trophy 3 times in the years 2010, 2011 and 2018. They were the first runners-up last year for the 5th time. They are the only team to earn the Purple Cap (given to the bowler who has taken highest number of wickets in the tournament) four times in IPL history.

Winners of Vivo IPL 2018
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Picture courtesy: DNA India

With just 2 days left, M.S. Dhoni led CSK and Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians (MI) are gearing up for an interesting contest. Will the yellow army lift the Dream11 IPL 2020 trophy or will MI be the defending champions?

Our emotions are running high. Are you on the same page? Let us know in the comment section below!