'He got really emotional': Kevin Pietersen narrates an unheard tale from MS Dhoni's tenure with Rising Pune Super Giants

In what became one of the highlights of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), MS Dhoni and his players took a lap of honour at the MA Chidambaram Stadium after the completion of the game between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on May 14 (Sunday).

SportsTak

• Mon • 15 May 2023

In what became one of the highlights of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), MS Dhoni and his players took a lap of honour at the MA Chidambaram Stadium after the completion of the game between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on May 14 (Sunday). Thousands of fans stayed back inside the stadium and applauded their idol Dhoni and showered the CSK captain with love and affection.

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen beautifully summed up the scenes at Chepauk and noted how inspiring Dhoni has been throughout his time with CSK.

"He is inspiring. You want to play well for him. You want to be the best version of himself in a team that he is captaining. We have seen that for however many years. He cares so much and when the captain cares so much, everybody starts to feel it. It resonates," said Pietersen on Star Sports.

"Look at the people who have stayed back to see, to try and touch him because of the person that he is. He is also an incredible human being away from the cricket field. These are wonderful scenes, hugely emotional scenes. This is such a fabulous gesture," he added.

Dhoni has been involved with the CSK franchise since the inception of the cash-rich tournament in 2008. Barring the two seasons when the franchise of suspended from IPL when Dhoni played for the Rising Pune Super Giants (RPS), Dhoni has been with the Yellow Army. He is the poster boy of the franchise and has become synonymous with CSK.

Pietersen revealed an unheard tale from Dhoni's tenure with RPS and spoke about how the CSK skipper always wanted to represent the Yellow Army. Pietersen also revealed how emotional Dhoni became in 2017 while talking about the CSK franchise.

"When Chennai had a break (suspension) for a couple of years, I played with MS at the Rising Pune Supergiant. When the opportunity presented itself to go back to Chennai, he was so emotional because that was the only place he wanted to play. The only place he wants to be involved. He has so much love for this ground, this city and this franchise. He got really emotional and it means so much," said Pietersen.