Watch: "Breath of fresh air..."- Dinesh Karthik highlights MS Dhoni's influence on Chennai

The former Indian wicket-keeper batter, Dinesh Karthik, has lauded the influence of World Cup-winning captain, MS Dhoni, on Chennai. During a recent podcast with England leg spinner, Adil Rashid, it was noted that they actually thought that Dhoni was from Chennai and not from any other city.

But it was Karthik, who informed that MS Dhoni had actually come from Ranchi, a city in Jharkhand, as he used to play for that domestic side in the past. The actual Tamil Nadu player, Dinesh Karthik, however, addressed Dhoni as the ‘breath of fresh air’ as the latter came from a small town in this country.

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“He was like a breath of fresh air, and he was coming from a small town. (But) He is from a completely different part. He is actually from Bihar, Jharkhand, or Ranchi. And that is a completely different part of India. So, he represented Bihar at that time.” Karthik, featuring in the International League T20 (ILT20), shed light on the podcast that has gone viral on social media platforms.

Dinesh Karthik addresses MS Dhoni’s influence in Chennai

There has been a great relationship between Dhoni and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), which started way back in 2008 when the Yellow franchise signed the wicket-keeper batter during the first auction. The right-handed batter has been the second leading run-getter of the team with 5314 runs in 238 innings at an average of 38.23.

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He also carries a clinical strike rate of 139.29 with the help of 23 half-centuries at the best score of unbeaten 84 runs against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in 2019. In the leadership department, he has won five titles for the franchise before handing over the leadership duties to Ruturaj Gaikwad in 2024.

Dhoni’s time is about to get over in the IPL, and there is always speculation on when he will say goodbye to the tournament. The Ranchi-born will feature in the next season of the IPL and may aim to make a massive difference with the bat and leadership group after a poor campaign of a wooden spoon in 2025.