'It's going to be celebrated like no other' - Matthew Hayden expects grand finish for MS Dhoni in forthcoming IPL

Former Australian cricketer and Chennai Super Kings player Matthew Hayden has revealed his expectations regarding India great and CSK's long-standing skipper MS Dhoni's presumed last season of the IPL. As reports of the upcoming IPL season being Dhoni's last have already surfaced, fans and experts from all corners have diligently wished for the franchise to make Dhoni's retirement memorable.

Hayden, who played his early years of IPL under Dhoni's captaincy, said that MS Dhoni would be looking to retire on a high from the Indian Premier League in front of a packed crowd in Chennai. He also said that his legacy would be celebrated extravagantly in the upcoming season of the IPL.

Hayden, who was a part of CSK from 2008-10, credited Dhoni for revitalising and revamping the side over the years.

“See CSK, they notoriously find a way to do things unique and special. Take their hiatus out of their IPL, it was unfortunate the two years they weren’t playing, and they came back the year after that to win the IPL, it was most unexpected. And they have a way!,” said Hayden on Star Sports.

“MS Dhoni has a way of revitalising, revamping, making it just a completely different look and feel to the side, even though it’s had this great tag of having complete trust in few players and having retained most of their players,” he added.

“So for MS Dhoni, I think this year in particular, it’s going to be a year celebrated like no other. It’s the finish I believe of the legacy of MS Dhoni and he will want to go out in style with his fans, who’d want him to go out in style as well,” the 2010 IPL winner said.

In his 15-year-long career so far in the tournament, the ‘captain cool’ has led Chennai Super Kings to four title victories, making them the second most successful franchise in the tournament. Until 2022, Chennai Super Kings was the only franchise to have stuck to a single captain ever since the inception of the IPL in 2008. Although they momentarily snapped of the tie to hand over captaincy duties to Ravindra Jadeja, CSK quickly restored normalcy by bringing Dhoni back after a dismal show by the team. 

Going to be very difficult to beat CSK at home: Hayden

The former Australian and CSK opener further said that CSK are going to be a difficult team to beat at home in the upcoming season as they have a stellar record at Chepauk. 

“It’s going to be remarkable, just the amount of supporters, the Yellow Army that is going to pile into the Chepauk Stadium. And they are going to be the same side that’s going to be very difficult to beat at home as well. Their record at home, at Chepauk, is undeniably the best in the IPL,” Hayden said.

“That venue is a fortress. And they are going to have MS Dhoni as their captain, arguably for the last time and that’s going to be one of those moments that no one is ever going to forget. He has especially stayed on in the IPL to say goodbye to his fans at Chepauk and they are going to turn up like you just couldn’t imagine,” he added.

Chennai will play the opening game of the IPL season 16 against Gujarat Titans on 31^st March at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.

 For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS App Store and Google Play Store