NEW DELHI: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are set to take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening game of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on March 22. Ahead of the mouth-watering clash, CSK captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said the convocation of players from all parts of the world in a single team makes the IPL an exciting tournament and how it provided him an "opportunity to know about other" overseas players.
In a video posted by Star Sports on their social media, Dhoni spoke about the CSK team of 2008 that had the likes of Australian great Matthew Hayden, Mike Hussey, Sri Lanka spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan and many more.
"The Chennai team that played in 2008 was a well-balanced team and had a lot of all-rounders. The team had a vast pool of experienced players such as Matthew Hayden, Mike Hussey, Muttiah Muralitharan, Makhaya Ntini, and Jacob Oram. To get them all together in one dressing room, to get to know each other was a challenge," Dhoni said.
1/10:Dhoni, Sachin, Bravo dazzle at Anant Ambani's 'Mela Rouge'
ANI
2/10:Milestone Man
<p>Sachin Tendulkar with wife, Anjali</p>AP
3/10:Caribbean flavour
<p>Former West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo with a fellow guest</p>PTI
4/10:The Kiwi Touch
<p>New Zealand and Mumbai Indians fast bowler Trent Boult with wife (Photo Source: X)</p>TOI Sports
5/10:The Skipper
<p>India captain Rohit Sharma is also part of three-day pre-wedding festivities hosted by the Ambanis (Photo Source: X)</p>TOI Sports
6/10:Man in Black
<p>Ishan Kishan, who plays for the Mumbai Indians, is also among the guests (Photo Source: X)</p>TOI Sports
7/10:'Thala' MSD
<p>MS Dhoni and his wife, Sakshi, posing for the photographers at the 'Mela Rouge' party</p>ANI
8/10:Star Power
<p>Dwayne Bravo with Bollywood super star and Kolkata Knight Riders' co-owner Shah Rukh Khan (Photo Source: X)</p>TOI Sports
9/10:Guest from Afghanistan
<p>Afghan cricketer Rashid Khan with Bollywood actor Sidharth Malhotra (Photo Source: X)</p>TOI Sports
10/10:SKY
<p>India and Mumbai Indians' hard-hitting batsman Suryakumar Yadav </p>PTI"I always believed that when you’re leading a team, it is important to make sure you understand each other. Once you know the individual, you know his strength, his weaknesses, it becomes easier as a team to move in the right direction," he said.
WATCH:
Dhoni has led CSK to five IPL titles - 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023.
Apart from guiding CSK to five titles, Dhoni also captained the 'Yellow Brigage' to two CLT20 titles in 2010 and 2014.
"IPL gave me an opportunity to understand a lot of foreign players. I wasn’t somebody who talked a lot to the opposition players but IPL provided an opportunity to know about other players, to know what they think about cricket, to know their culture. All of that made IPL very interesting," he added.
Dhoni, along with wife Sakshi, was spotted at Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant's pre-wedding celebrations in Jamnagar last weekend.
