As far as popularity and fandom go, MS Dhoni and Lionel Messi top the charts. Both superstars are in the final phase of their careers in cricket and football respectively, yet their fan following shows no signs of waning. Their achievements demand such respect. While MS Dhoni remains the only Indian cricket team captain to win the ODI World, T20 World Cup, Champions Trophy and also take the Test team to No. 1 ranking, Messi’s exploits with Argentina and Barcelona are legendary.
And when these two greats come together, it’s bound the get viral. The same happened during an ‘ultimate collab’ for an ad-shoot. The video of the star duo juxtaposed while paying football was posted by Lay’s India and is nearing a million likes in just one day.
MS Dhoni is currently leading Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. He won all IPL titles (2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, 2023) as the captain of CSK. Dhoni is also the sixth-highest run-getter in IPL history, with 5,373 runs at an average of 39.21, with a strike rate of over 137. He has scored 24 half-centuries, with the best score of 84*. With 197 dismissals, he is also the most successful wicketkeeper-batter in the competition.
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) stand-in skipper, MS Dhoni turned back the clock in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Monday, producing a late blitz to fire the team to its second victory of the season. Dhoni’s bat breathed fire, scoring 26 runs off just 11 balls as CSK chased down the target of 167 runs in a last-over thriller. Courtesy of his fireworks at the Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, Dhoni was named the Player of the Match. Though the ‘Thala’ didn’t quite agree with the decision of the organisers, the award helped him shatter an all-time record in IPL history.
Thanks to the POTM honour, Dhoni has become the oldest player in the T20 league’s history to be given the award, at the age of 43 years and 280 days. He broke an 11-year-old record in the process, surpassing Pravin Tambe to take the No. 1 spot. Dhoni, hence, became the first player in the league’s history to be named the Player of the Match at the age of 43.
Topics mentioned in this article
