'Chennai Taught me How to Conduct Myself': Old Video Shows MS Dhoni Paying Rich Tributes to Tamil Nadu And Its People

MS Dhoni may not have taken birth in Tamil Nadu or played domestic cricket for the state but thanks to his unmatched feats with the Indian national team and Chennai Super Kings in IPL, the legendary captain has become their ‘adopted son’.

It seemed as if Dhoni’s popularity as increased by several notches as not only Chepauk, the home venue of CSK but every other stadium where the franchise played matches during IPL, the ‘home fans’ were reduced to minority. It never appeared that CSK were playing an away game thanks to the venues turning yellow with plenty of fans donning replica of Dhoni’s jersey.

Not that the love is one-sided. Dhoni has repaid their love by staying loyal to CSK and guiding them to five IPL trophies – the joint most in the league’s 16-year history.

An old video has surfaced of Dhoni where he can be seen crediting Tamil Nadu for teaching him how to conduct himself and appreciate the game.

“..I’m like a wanderer. My parents came from Uttar Pradesh. It was initially UP, then it became Uttarakhand. I was born in Ranchi which was Bihar. Then later on became Jharkhand. I got my job at the age of 18, with railways in West Bengal, Kharagpur and then I came to Chennai and I believe Chennai taught me a lot,” Dhoni said during an event in the city in 2021.

He continued, “Tamil Nadu taught me a lot when it came to how to conduct myself, how to appreciate the game. Each and every game that we played at Chepauk the fans came and supported good cricket.

Dhoni’s association with Chennai started long before IPL. He made his Test debut in the city.

“The association (with CSK) started in 2008 when it comes to IPL, but it (association with Chennai) started before that when I came to play some of the other formats,” Dhoni recalled.

“One of the most memorable being my Test debut, you know, which happened is in Chennai. I think I never knew that I’ll be picked by CSK, I was in the auction and I got picked and it gave me an opportunity to understand the culture, which was very different from where I actually came from,” he added.