With five IPL trophies to their name and plenty of fine memories for their fans, Chennai Super Kings are arguably the most storied IPL franchise, their history littered with some legendary players and names which have become iconic in the fabric of Indian cricket. On Sunday, 22nd March, with less than a week to go to the start of the nineteenth season of the tournament, the team organised a fan event in which they welcomed back all of those legends to the Chepauk in anticipation of what comes next.
At the Roar ‘26 event organised over the weekend, Chennai welcomed back plenty of big names over their time in the IPL, as players old and new alike united to be suited up in yellow once again. At the helm was MS Dhoni, whose incredible fan-following ensured he remained the biggest draw at the event – but he was surrounded by the faces that made his IPL teams what they have been for nearly two decades.
This included reunions with Suresh Raina, and other players synonymous with the Chennai yellow. Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Dwayne Bravo and Subramaniam Badrinath, all of whom were part of Chennai’s initial successes were present, as were others who made their names shine in briefer periods – Muttiah Muralitharan, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Harbhajan Singh, and Ambati Rayudu, with many many more.
Samson, Gaikwad, Mhatre rub shoulders with CSK greats
The event gave these players an opportunity to link up with the stars of today and tomorrow – not least captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, and new joinee Sanju Samson, who is one of the most popular cricketers in the country and will play his maiden season in Chennai following a player of the tournament showing at the T20 World Cup – the man known as ‘Chetta’ being commemorated at his new home ground before the season.
In clips shared from the event, Dhoni can be seen beaming full smiles as he saw teammates from his past reunited at the M Chidambaram Stadium, sharing jokes with reliable deputies like Badrinath and Rayudu, or having some fun at the expense of Dwayne Bravo as the now-KKR coach bowled some looseners.
Gaikwad also was clipped up bowling to Mike Hussey, and the Australian batter who won the 2013 Orange Cap looked like he could still be going in the IPL as he played a couple of gorgeous cover drives for six. With all the players mic’d up, it was an evening of great fun and recollection as CSK fans got the chance to revisit some beautiful memories.
The current IPL squad for the CSK also held an open practice with some light drills inf ront of the fans, kicking around footballs and enjoying themselves in the sun. It was a memorable moment for some of India’s world champions – U19 captain Ayush Mhatre, alongside Shivam Dube and Samson, were awarded plaques by Dhoni as their feats in lifting trophies inr ecent months were commemorated.
