Former CSK player reveal what makes MS Dhoni 'Chennai's adopted son'

Heralded for his sheer brute and quick thinking on feet, former India skipper MS Dhoni is one of the iconic cricketers of his generation. With an unorthodox playing style, the ‘helicopter shot’ maker has established himself as one of the pioneers of the game. Although, the gloveman has retired from the red-ball format, his presence in the limited overs format is still a welcoming change to all Indians.

And ahead of the IPL 2018 auction, Chennai Super Kings retained him as their skipper. Apart from Dhoni, the Super Kings also retained Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja as their other two cricketers. Having led CSK for eight consecutive seasons, Dhoni has been an integral part of the franchise and is solely responsible for building a huge fan base around it.

Following his retention, Dhoni revealed why he returned to CSK, despite being approached by many franchises. Time and again, cricketers who have been a part of the Chennai Super Kings have revealed how the ambiance was a unique under his tutelage. CSK have won two IPL titles, courtesy Dhoni’s captaincy and his stature have only grown with each passing season. Subramaniam Badrinath, who has played under Dhoni for many seasons, revealed what differences the 36-year-old brought to the dressing room.

Dhoni identifies the best in a player

Badrinath told Cricbuzz in a video, “He lets the player be that he can be. Every cricketer has a natural style, what he brings to the table, natural way of playing cricket. The important thing MS does is, he recognises that. He recognises the individuality of every player and he lets them be so that they can go on to become the best that they can be. He doesn’t try to put too much of an emphasis from his captain’s point of view into cricket. He just lets the natural ability of the player grow into itself.”

Although born in Ranchi, Dhoni has found a new home in Chennai. The way Chennai fans have adopted him is something that is unmatchable. Such an electrifying relationship between the fans and the city has not been seen with any other franchise in IPL yet.