After leading the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to unprecedented heights in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in a short amount of time, MS Dhoni didn’t take long to become the favorite son of Chennai. With five IPL titles under his leadership—a record—the wicketkeeper-batter has grown to be an inspiration for the CSK over the years.
MS Dhoni, whom CSK signed in 2008 for an astounding $1.5 million, was the most expensive player at the first IPL auction.
Chennai is still seeing incredible success under the stalwart, so going all in for Dhoni was the best move they’ve made in fifteen years.
Richard Madley, the auctioneer, published the image of the “first-ever auction sheet” in 2008. That sheet included Dhoni’s purchasing details along with those of other elite players such as Shane Warne, Shoaib Akhtar, Adam Gilchrist, Muttiah Muralitharan, and Mahela Jayawardena.
Just found my one and only auction sheet for the historic first ever #VIVOIPL auction in 2008.@msdhoni sold to @ChennaiIPL A rare piece of cricket memorabilia
Will be watching #CSKvMI on @hotstarUK #CricketMeriJaan #WhistlePodu #VIVOIPLFinal pic.twitter.com/5M5qY2tPy5— Richard Madley (@iplauctioneer) May 12, 2019
Despite having a wounded knee, MS Dhoni led his team to victory in 2023 as they defeated the Gujarat Titans, the reigning champions, in Ahmedabad. After moving to Ranchi, he participated in all 16 games. With a strike rate of 182.46, he scored 104 runs in 12 innings, rolling back the years with some signature sixes.
CSK has the fourth-highest purse heading into the IPL 2024 auction.
Ben Stokes was let go by the Chennai Super Kings earlier this month. A staggering INR 16.25 crore was paid for him. Nevertheless, due to a knee injury, England’s red-ball captain was limited to playing in just two games for the well-known squad.
The next Indian Premier League auction in 2024 would see CSK with a purse of INR 31.40 crore, fourth highest after Gujarat Titans (INR 38.15 crore), Sunrisers Hyderabad (INR 34 crore), and Kolkata Knight Riders (INR 32.70 crore). There are three places left, all of which are abroad. Tuesday, December 19, in Dubai is when the IPL 2024 auction will take place.
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