India’s limited overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has garnered quite a reputation for being stoic through the years. But just after guiding his new team the Rising Pune Supergiants home to a comfortable victory over Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League opener on Saturday, an unusually pensive Dhoni appeared for the post-match press conference.
“It was an emotional moment not to see myself in yellow,” said the World Cup-winning Indian captain, referring to the Chennai Super King’s famous yellow jersey. He then went on to remind everyone present that after he had started playing Twenty20 cricket, he had represented the Super Kings for eight long years, guiding them to two podium finishes.
Remarkably, it was not the first time that Dhoni had chosen to remark on his association with the Chennai franchise. At the launch of the Supergiants’ official jersey, Dhoni was asked about how he felt playing for a new team. But instead of giving a typically bland reply, the Indian captain’s response touched a few chords.
Madras’ Mahendra
“If you want me to be politically correct, that is not how I am. After eight years of IPL, it feels very different to play for any other team,” said Dhoni. “All of a sudden if you want me to say that I am very excited to play for a new team, don't give credit to CSK and the fans for the love and affection they have given us, it will be wrong."
The reason for the Ranchi-born Dhoni’s attachment with Chennai is not remarkable. In a city obsessed with its movie stars, the captain of the Chennai Super Kings acquired mythical proportions. In the ensuing eight years when he led the Chennai IPL franchise, the city’s fans accepted him as one of their own. They lovingly referred (and continue to refer) to him as “Thala”, a Tamil word for high endearment, usually reserved for its biggest movie superstars.
If the premise of the Indian Premier League revolved around creating city-based identities, the Chennai Super Kings is one of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s biggest success stories. The Mumbai Indians had Sachin Tendulkar to create a sense of identity for the Mumbaikar while the Kolkata Knight Riders rode on Sourav Ganguly’s “Prince of Calcutta” connect but Chennai could have been a tricky case. In a matter of few years though, the team became an integral part of the city’s consciousness, along with the eponymous filter kaapi and the iconic Marina Beach.
Hence when the Justice Lodha committee, constituted by the Supreme Court to probe cases of spot-fixing in the cash-rich IPL, pronounced its verdict, a palpable gloom washed over the Tamil Nadu capital. In one fell swoop, the Chennai Super Kings were suspended from the IPL for two years. For Chennai fans, it was a body blow – an integral component of their identity had been destroyed. But there was more heartbreak to come. Their messiah Dhoni moved to Pune and the dream-team of Dhoni, Ravichandran Ashwin and Suresh Raina which had been the backbone of the Chennai team had to be broken up.
Down but not out
But fans have not given up hope. CSK nostalgia pervades on social media as fans are quick to remind others about the unfairness of the situation they face. A hilarious parody video featuring the popular Tamil actor Dhanush went viral where the actor was shown to be ranting to other teams about how by taking their team out, they had just proved that CSK was invincible.
Others have gone a step farther and pledged a temporary allegiance to the Rising Pune Supergiants for the time-being, because of the Dhoni factor. In fact, another hilarious parody video takes off from the massively popular Rajnikanth starrer “Baasha” where the superstar played a criminal don who over for the course of the movie, transformed into a humble auto rickshawdriver. The video shows Rajnikanth’s two alternate personalites and drives home the point that Rising Pune Supergiants are just another version of the much-loved Chennai Super Kings.
“Without CSK, IPL this year is boring,” said Janardhan Koushik, a Chennai resident and a fan of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. “And though people support Pune just for Dhoni, it can never match CSK and its charm. We are all waiting for the two years to get over soon.”
And until those two years get soon, it’s quite clear what Chennaites are doing till their prodigal sons return home. Cries of Whistle podu will still rent the humid Chennai air, but temporarily for the Supergiants, while the Super Kings bide their time away from the spotlight.