Ravichandran Ashwin recalled the moment when MS Dhoni walked out to bat during the CSK vs MI IPL 2025 match at Chepauk on Sunday.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin revealed the atmosphere around the MA Chidambaram Stadium when MS Dhoni walked out to bat in their IPL 2025 opener against Mumbai Indians on Sunday. Ashwin recalled that when the former CSK captain walked out to bat, the crowd made so much noise that the match situation was almost forgotten.
Dhoni walked out to bat at number eight after Ravindra Jadeja was dismissed in the 19th over. Chennai Super Kings were 152/6 after Jadeja’s dismissal and needed just four runs to win from eight balls. Rachin Ravindra was the batter at the other end. Rachin Ravindra scored the winning runs with a six off Mitchell Santner in the first ball of the 20th over. Dhoni remained uneaten on nought from two balls.
“I noticed one thing—when Mahendra Singh Dhoni walked out, the crowd was making so much noise that we forgot about the game situation. Obviously, MS Dhoni has earned this love. Amazing, fabulous,” Ashwin said during a show on his YouTube channel Ash ki Baat. Ashwin recalled the experience of getting a first-hand experience from the dressing room. The Tamil Nadu cricketer added that he was padded up to bat but wasn’t eventually required to walk out to the middle.
“For me, as a CSK player, I had never seen this from the dressing room. I had only watched it from the outside when I played for RR. I won a match in Chennai and enjoyed it a lot. But as a CSK player, watching that, I was like— I was padded up. I was the next batsman. I went inside and asked Ruturaj what I should do, how the wicket was playing. Four runs were still needed, but everyone forgot that a match was on the line. Incredible. It is absolute cinema. It is absolute cinema,” continued the former Rajasthan Royals player.
Ashwin made his IPL debut in 2009 for the Chennai Super Kings. He played for the side till 2015, and that was followed by stints with the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant, as well as Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Chennai Super Kings acquired the 38-ear-old for INR 9.75 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction last year.
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Dhoni, on the other hand, has played for Chennai Super Kings in all but two seasons— In 2016 and 2017, when CSK were banned from the IPL due to the spot-fixing scandal.
In those two seasons, Dhoni played for Rising Pune Supergiant along with R Ashwin. Dhoni, who has led CSK to five IPL titles, stepped down as captain ahead of the 2024 season, with Ruturaj Gaikwad taking over as skipper. Chennai Super Kings will next take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in another home game on Friday (March 28).
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