'They didn't have an icon player' - Former IPL COO reveals how MS Dhoni joined Chennai Super Kings in 2008

Since its inception in 2008, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has broken all records of viewership and has reached new heights of stardom and popularity. No individual would have imagined a decade ago that the cash-rich league will establish itself as one of the most competitive and dynamic T20 tournaments.

In the inaugural edition of the tournament, one peculiar aspect was the assignment of marquee players to their respective franchise. While Mumbai grabbed Sachin Tendulkar, Delhi acquired Virender Sehwag as their marquee players. Yuvraj Singh and Sourav Ganguly were also roped in as the faces of Punjab and Kolkata respectively.

However, MS Dhoni, who was then basking in form after clinching the T20 World Cup in 2007, didn’t find a franchise who assigned him as its marquee player. That’s when Chennai Super Kings stepped into the ring and Dhoni’s endearing association with the franchise began to blossom.

Dhoni made Chepauk his home and became one of the most successful IPL skippers after steering the ‘Yellow Army’ to three titles. Speaking on the 22 Yarns podcast alongside host Gaurav Kapur, former IPL Chief Operating Officer Sundar Raman revealed the story behind the start of Dhoni’s association with CSK.

MS Dhoni made Chennai his home: Former IPL COO Sundar Raman

“The only thing sure about the 2008 IPL was that the marquee players had to be assigned to their respective franchises. Sachin Tendulkar for Mumbai, Virender Sehwag for Delhi, Yuvraj Singh for Punjab, Sourav Ganguly for Kolkata. But MS Dhoni, who was at the peak of his stardom, was without a home,” said Raman.

“So what did he do? He made Chennai his home. At the time, the icon player was not fixed a salary and would be paid 15% more than the highest-paid player on the team.

Since CSK didn’t have an icon player, they were a bit more free to bid for the player of their choice. So the Indian T20 captain went to Chennai because there was no surcharge or GST, so to speak,” added Raman.

Raman also revealed that the organizing committee didn’t know how to distribute the players to the franchises in the first edition of the IPL.

One of the franchises suggested the idea of an auction and that completely changed the face of the tournament. Considering that it would generate a lot of market interest, the committee gave the green signal to the idea of hosting an auction.

Here’s the video: