Former Indian team captain MS Dhoni celebrated his 45th birthday with a rare public appearance at Trent Bridge on Tuesday. Dhoni was seen in the stands during the 3rd T20I between India and England, drawing massive cheers from the crowd.
As the broadcast cameras panned to the smiling veteran, Indian cricket great Sunil Gavaskar took the opportunity to send an on-air greeting.
“Oh, here is the birthday boy, MS Dhoni. He turns 45 today, yet he still looks like a 26-year-old. From my side, I’d like to wish a very, very happy birthday to the greatest captain India has ever seen.” Gavaskar said on commentary. He also echoed the desperate sentiments of millions of Chennai Super Kings fans: “I hope he plays one more IPL season for CSK because I want to see him in the yellow jersey one last time.”
Separately, to a fan, Dhoni offered a classic response, miming, “I’m old now. My beard has gone grey, and I can barely walk.”
MS Dhoni missed IPL 2026
One can forgive the CSK faithful for feeling nervous. The former captain, who scored 5,439 runs in 278 matches and famously led the Chepauk franchise to a joint-record five IPL titles, has not turned out for them since the 2025 IPL season (he was sidelined throughout the 2026 campaign due to injury). At the ripe age of 45, there is no guarantee he will don the yellow jersey again for the 2027 edition of the tournament, so the larger anxiety is that one of Indian cricket’s most famous sons will never receive a farewell match.
Fans remember the aftermath of his final appearance in India colours all too well. Following the 2019 ODI World Cup semifinal defeat to New Zealand in Manchester, where he scored a half-century but was dismissed via a narrow run-out, Dhoni withdrew from the public eye for almost a year. Then, in August 2020, after months of speculation over whether he would return to the national team, he abruptly retired, via a simple Instagram announcement: “Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout.from 1929 hrs consider me as Retired.” (sic) He finished his international career with 17,200 international runs and 829 dismissals to his name, across 538 matches for Team India.
The lingering fear is that his franchise career could end with a similarly sudden social media post, without any fanfare or farewell. But, millions will hope ‘Thala’ has one last ride left in him.