MS Dhoni was almost signed by Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2008 auction

Since the inception of the Indian Premier League, MS Dhoni has been an indispensable part of Chennai Super Kings. ‘Thala’ Dhoni’s fan-following is second to none and no CSK fan can imagine him donning any other colour than yellow in the IPL.

With his calm demeanour, leadership skills and finishing skills, Dhoni has now become the face of the Chennai franchise, leading them to three IPL titles so far. The Ranchi stalwart’s success and consistency in the league is a testimony of his calibre and captaincy.

Dhoni was a part of Rising Pune Supergiant during CSK’s truancy from the league. However, he was the first player to be retained by CSK ahead of the IPL 2018 auction. Dhoni is tagged as an ‘inseparable’ asset of CSK but very few fans know that he almost went to Mumbai Indians in the inaugural edition of the tournament. It was only because of a special rule which led to Dhoni’s association with the Yellow Army.

During the first season of the IPL, famous Indian players had to represent their home franchises as icons. Because of this rule, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag became a part of MI, KKR and DD respectively.

MS Dhoni was one of the most sought-after players at that time

Dhoni, who was at the peak of his career at that time after clinching the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa, didn’t get an opportunity to be an icon as Jharkhand had no IPL team. Dhoni was one of the most sought-after players in the IPL 2008 auction and MI were also desperate to snap him up.

However, the hefty signing fee of Sachin Tendulkar (USD 1.65 million) came in their way. In the inaugural season of the IPL, teams only had a purse of USD 5 million. MI failed to sign ‘Mahi’ as they didn’t have enough cash left in their bag.

Chennai Super Kings, who were without a marquee player, decided to go for Dhoni and the rest is history. ‘Captain Cool’ went on to script many records for CSK and is expected to continue shining for them for a few more years.

While Dhoni has hung up his boots on a 16-year illustrious career with Team India, he will now be seen donning the CSK colours in the UAE. In an impressive IPL career, he has scored 4432 runs in 190 matches at an impressive average of 42.20.