Wankhede Stadium has a special place in my heart: MS Dhoni

In a recent discussion, MS Dhoni elaborated on his experience of playing cricket in India and, in particular, the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. He also thanked the supporters for their incredible support over the past few years.

In the same interaction, when asked about his "second favourite venue" other than the home venue of Chennai Super Kings, the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Dhoni expressed that he did not have anything of that nature. However, he did share that he had a "soft corner" for Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium and the city in general.

"Well, I wouldn't say I have a second favourite because we get the same kind of reception almost everywhere. Mumbai, I have a soft corner because in 2007, when we won the T20 World Cup, we came back here and got a very warm reception. The 2011 final was also here, and there are a lot of memories, so it has a special place in my heart," Dhoni said in a conversation with JioHotstar.

"Other than that, even if you're playing in Bangalore, the crowd is amazing, they're very loud, and all the noise stays inside the stadium. In Kolkata, big capacity crowd, the same is with Ahmedabad now. So, it becomes very difficult—who will you pick? Because they come with all their heart, they support the teams, they support cricket. Chepauk is special because with the whistle, they are very loud," he further added.

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Dhoni has been the linchpin of the Men in Yellow since the inception of the IPL. He has won five titles with the franchise as their skipper. As far as IPL 2025 is concerned, Dhoni is playing as an "uncapped player", after being amongst the five players to be retained by CSK ahead of the mega auction in November 2024.

One of the most iconic moments of Dhoni at the Wankhede was the final of the Cricket World Cup in 2011, where he bagged the Player of the Match accolade for his unbeaten 91-run knock off 79 deliveries. His match-winning maximum over long-on has been forever etched in the golden memories of Indian cricket.