Australia's former star opener Matthew Hayden believes that the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season will be the perfect swansong for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper and the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is likely to make his final appearance in the 16th edition of the tournament.
Dhoni, India's former ODI and T20 World Cup-winning skipper, has won the coveted IPL trophy four times. Although there has been no official confirmation, many believe that this will be the last time that Dhoni will take the field for CSK, and Hayden is of the opinion that because of this, the upcoming IPL will be 'celebrated like no other', especially by the Chennai Super Kings.
Speaking to Star Sports, Hayden said, "See CSK, they notoriously find a way to do things unique and special. Take their hiatus out of their IPL, it was unfortunate the two years they weren't playing, and they came back the year after that to win the IPL, it was most unexpected. And they have a way!
"MS Dhoni has a way of revitalising, revamping, making it just a completely different look and feel to the side, even though it's had this great tag of having complete trust in few players and having retained most of their players. So for MS Dhoni, I think this year in particular, it's going to be a year celebrated like no other. It's the finish I believe of the legacy of MS Dhoni and he will want to go out in style with his fans, who'd want him to go out in style as well."
And with the tournament returning to it's pre-Covid home and away format, the Chepauk Stadium, home of CSK, will be buzzing to give Dhoni a suitable send-off, and so will the team. "... It's going to be remarkable, just the amount of supporters, the Yellow Army that is going to pile into the Chepauk Stadium. And they are going to be the same side that's going to be very difficult to beat at home as well. Their record at home, at Chepauk, is undeniably the best in the IPL.
"That venue is a fortress. And they are going to have MS Dhoni as their captain, arguably for the last time and that's going to be one of those moments that no one is ever going to forget. He has especially stayed on in the IPL to say goodbye to his fans at Chepauk and they are going to turn up like you just couldn't imagine," Hayden added.
The upcoming edition of the IPL starts from March 31.
