As we all know, the Chennai team is practising at the Lalbhai Contractor Stadium in Surat. The idea of choosing this specific stadium is that the pitches here are made of the same soil as Maharashtra. This will help the team adapt to the conditions better.
Reportedly, the idea was given by none other than Chennai skipper MS Dhoni. This week, several videos went viral where Dhoni was seen hitting sixes in the different practice sessions. In one video, the right-hander hit a one-handed six. Another video saw the former India skipper hitting a huge six in the open nets. Meanwhile, a video of the Surat crowd chanting ‘Dhoni Dhoni’ has surfaced on social media.
In the video, the team members are travelling to the ground from the team hotel. Fans gather in the area where the team bus was supposed to pass. The fans gathered in large numbers and took videos or photos of the players.
Watch the video here
The love for MS Dhoni at Surat. (Source – Natarajan Sanjay from Instagram) pic.twitter.com/usZtASnNpS
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 11, 2022
Talking about the schedule, the defending champions will start their campaign at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai against Kolkata. Their longest-serving skipper MS Dhoni has already announced that this ITL might be his last as a player. The 40-year-old has the record of playing most games as an ITL captain (204 games for Chennai and now-defunct Pune).
The record is unlikely to be broken in near future as the next best is Virat Kohli, who has captained in 140 games for Bangalore. Kohli left the job last year, although reports suggest that his franchise hasn’t accepted his resignation yet.
