Umpire Chris Gaffaney shields MS Dhoni after a fan encroaches the field

Chennai Super Kings finished their season with yet another disappointing performance against the Rajasthan Royals. CSK, after batting first, managed a below-par score of 150/6. But the innings was halted for a brief moment when a fan encroached on the field to meet MS Dhoni. The incident took place during Yuzvendra Chahal’s over when a fan donning the yellow jersey breached the security and ran towards the pitch to greet MSD.

Umpire Chris Gaffaney was alert and reacted swiftly in guarding MSD against the fan, acting as a human shield. The CSK skipper was seen gesturing to the fan to go back to the stands before security rushed to the scene and escorted the fan away. Dhoni scored a sluggish 26 off 28 deliveries before being dismissed by Chahal. Earlier in the game, he had smashed Prasidh Krishna for a six that brought the crowd to its feet. During the toss, the former Indian skipper revealed that he will be back for next year’s IPL.

The news has been received well by his fans all around the country as they look to give their captain a proper send-off next year. This isn’t the first occasion that a fan has rushed onto the pitch to express their gratitude. There have been numerous instances of fans breaching the security and running onto the field to touch MSD’s feet. Dhoni’s special bond with his fans is well known across the globe.

Dhoni’s die-hard fans have never failed to amaze us with their admiration for him

The fans have reached out to their inspirational leader on many occasions and their ‘Thailava’ has reciprocated too. The most recent instance of this being a fan who came forward and sent a heartfelt letter to the Chennai Super Kings captain.

“If I am seven percent of the person, you are someday, I would consider myself blessed. From the Indian cricket team to Chennai Super Kings, there has never been a day when the cricket fan inside me hasn’t thanked you for what you have done. O CAPTAIN OUR CAPTAIN, THERE SHALL NEVER BE SOMEONE LIKE YOU,” the letter said.

Dhoni also replied to the letter and the official Twitter handle of CSK recently shared a picture of that framed letter with Dhoni’s signed words – “Well written, best wishes.”