'Whole India loves him': Sunil Gavaskar says Dhoni's popularity surpassed Tendulkar and Kohli
Sunil Gavaskar
India's batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has said that CSK skipper MS Dhoni's popularity in the country has surpassed Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.
Sunil Gavaskar is currently in the UAE and a part of the commentary panel in the 13th edition of Indian Premier League.
CSK skipper MS Dhoni's return to the field is the much-anticipated part of this year's IPL as the former Indian captain announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15. The last he played during the World Cup semi-finals clash against the Kiwis, 14 months ago.
Speaking about Dhoni before the IPL opener, Gavaskar said, “Since MSD comes from Ranchi, which doesn’t have a cricket culture as such, the whole India loves him. Tendulkar has Mumbai and Kolkata, Kohli has Delhi and Bengaluru but when you talk of Dhoni it’s the whole India.
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Dhoni is also on the verge of breaking a record held by Suresh Raina, who will miss IPL 2020 due to ‘personal reasons’.
Dhoni, who has numerous records under his belt, is set to become the most-capped player in IPL and is just four appearances away from surpassing the record held by Raina in IPL. ‘Thala’ has led CSK in 10 seasons in IPL while winning three titles with the Yellow Army.
Despite the tournament being played outside India and behind closed doors, CSK fans are still running high on energy as their Dhoni and Co. begin their campaign tonight.