Chennai Super Kings fans’ beloved skipper MS Dhoni, also affectionately nicknamed ‘Thala’ just needed a couple of deliveries to send them into a frenzy, as the 41-year-old young-as-ever wicket-keeper smashed a Joshua Little delivery into the deep square leg stands for a maximum.
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It was the first match of IPL 2023 last Friday as Dhoni stepped on to the field for the first time this year, in what might well be his last season for the ‘Yellow Army’ as well, as the ever-popular wicket-keeper batter makes sure to entertain the biggest stakeholders of the game the way he used to do during his international Cricket playing days.
Not only the jam-packed Narendra Modi Stadium crowd with over one lakh people, but the Ahmedabad Metro station filled with youngsters, and for his millions fans watching via the visual medium, all it took was a couple of powerful shots off his bat that night to bring joy and unadulterated happiness on their faces.
Why is MS Dhoni called Thala by CSK Fans?
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been honoured by quite a few nicknames throughout his illustrious cricketing career so far, ranging from Mahi, Captain Cool, MSD, to name a few.
However, come the IPL season, and the CSK champion skipper doesn’t remain Dhoni anymore. He is the fans’ ‘Thala’ for the next couple of months, a nickname which is arguably the most popular, endearing, and which denotes the respect that he has earned throughout the years as the franchise’s skipper.
The word ‘Thala’ means ‘head or ‘leader’, in the Tamil language.
Just like Dhoni always insists on keeping the approach towards the game as simple as possible, his passionate fans too have come up with a rather simple nickname for him, but one which will be carried by the man as a huge mark of respect till the time he is remembered by the cricketing fraternity.
“It feels really special” – MS Dhoni
During the post-match presentation of CSK’s last league match during the 2019 season, Dhoni had remarked how special it is for him to get this title. He also remarked how he is never called by his name in the Southern part of India, but always ‘Thala’, which makes the nickname even more special for him.
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