There was a festive atmosphere at the MA Chidambaram Stadium ahead of Chennai Super Kings’ IPL 2026 home game in the city. On Sunday, the five-time champions hosted a special event for their fans, bringing together their former players – the OGs – under one roof. It was a day that brought back memories when players like Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Dwayne Bravo, Muttiah Muralitharan, Murali Vijay, Parthiv Patel, S Badrinath and Suresh Raina once again donned the yellow jersey and walked on the iconic Chepauk.

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As expected, MS Dhoni stole the show. The 44-year-old took to the field on Sunday afternoon with a thunderous background score, much to the delight of fans who had bought tickets for the special event, which will be followed by a concert by Academy Award winner AR Rahman.

A fan was seen crying as he saw Dhoni walk onto the field to begin the fun-filled training session. Titled ‘Roar 26’, CSK hosted the special evening to honor its former cricketers as well as the World Cup winners from the current team.

While the loudest cheer was reserved for Dhoni, Suresh Raina, one of CSK’s greatest players, was welcomed with a huge roar by the crowd. Sanju Samson, who will join the CSK squad in IPL 2026 after his departure from Rajasthan Royals, also got a warm welcome.

Dhoni appeared to be enjoying while getting wickets to some of his former teammates. He saw Michael Hussey dancing on the track and sending captain Ruturaj Gaikwad’s part-time off-spin into the stands.

When Samson came back and hit a six off Muttiah Muralitharan, Dhoni was also behind the stumps.

As usual, Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo were engaged in a light banter on the field. When Dhoni had a chance to stump Bravo, who was dancing on the track and missed a big shot, he decided not to do so. Later in the evening, Bravo entertained the Chepauk crowd by singing a song before walking up to Dhoni and sharing a warm embrace with his former captain.

Dhoni honored Samson

Dhoni then honored India’s T20 World Cup heroes – Shivam Dubey and Sanju Samson with special mementos. Dhoni also honored Ayush Mhatre, who led India’s Under-19 team to win the World Cup earlier this year.

Dhoni later attended the felicitation ceremony along with CSK OGs and the current team of players and thanked the fans who came in large numbers. He was also seen hitting tennis balls into the stands, ensuring that supporters went home with special memories.

This was the first time CSK hosted a ticketed event for fans at the start of the IPL season. The franchise ensured the presence of many former superstars. Despite their commitments with other IPL teams, Bravo (KKR mentor), Hayden and Parthiv (Gujarat Titans coach) attended the event in Chennai.

All eyes were on Dhoni amid speculations that the event, featuring many CSK greats, could signal the beginning of his final season as a player. However, there were no signs of a farewell as the 44-year-old donned the gloves and enjoyed his time on the field.

While Ruturaj Gaikwad will continue to lead CSK, it remains to be seen how involved Dhoni will be this season. There is a school of thought that he may limit himself to playing as an impact player. However, if indications from the training sessions are anything to go by, Dhoni may take over the wicketkeeping duties ahead of Samson.

Dhoni’s performance with the bat in IPL 2025 was not good and he scored 196 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 135.17. It was a tough campaign for the team as Dhoni took over the captaincy after Ruturaj was injured midway through the season, leading to CSK finishing at the bottom of the points table for the first time in IPL history.

However, Dhoni is training hard for IPL 2026 starting from March 28. After starting his preparations in Ranchi in early February, he joined the CSK camp in Chennai in the first week of March and has been training intensively since then.

CSK will start their campaign on Monday, March 30 against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati. They will play their first home match on Friday, April 3 against Punjab Kings.

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