The popularity of T20 cricket, especially in India, can be attributed to a particular Indian team led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who came back as World champion of the format in its inaugural global competition in 2007. And a year later, the advent of the Indian Premier League (IPL) coincided with the transformation of Dhoni as the beloved ‘Captain Cool‘.
A leader par excellence, Dhoni has donned the captaincy role for his IPL teams – Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS), since the beginning of the league in 2008. The league, arguably the world’s most popular cricket league, and its most famous skipper, Dhoni, have grown leaps and bounds in their more than decade-long symbiotic coexistence.
In the process, Dhoni has played the most number of matches in the league as captain, made most dismissals as wicketkeeper and earned the nickname ‘Thala’ while becoming one of the most successful skipper with three IPL titles. He is probably the most prominent ambassador of the league and his performance and form in the league has spilled over to his international career and the reverse is true too.
*Overall IPL batting stats

Here we tried to retract the glorious journey of the IPL and its best representative ‘Mahi’ Dhoni:
The beginning…
Dhoni started his IPL journey as the most expensive cricketer in the league, fetching a jaw-dropping USD 1.5 million contract as the skipper of Chennai Super Kings in the first players’ auction. It turned out to be a fruitful and a long-term relationship between Dhoni and the Chennai-based franchise.
Soon, Dhoni became a superstar for the CSK fans. And in no time, the calm and composed wicketkeeper batsman became ‘Thala’ for the team’s vast followers, making the team one of the most popular in the league.
Dhoni on his part did not disappoint his fans, taking the team to the final of the inaugural edition itself in 2008. CSK though lost the title clash to Shane Warne-led Rajasthan Royals. But it was the beginning of a beautiful relationship with the team, its fans and the league.
*Most dismissals as wicketkeeper in IPL

That midas touch!
Dhoni and his team did not have to wait long before they became the IPL champions. The third season returned to India, after the second in 2009 was organised in South Africa due to a date clash with the country’s general election. And with it the midas touch of Dhoni returned.
The semi-final defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in South Africa was soon forgotten as CSK lifted the IPL trophy for the first time in 2010, beating Mumbai Indians in the summit clash. CSK went on to win the T20 Champions League too in the same year.
The run continued in the next season too. CSK finished the league stage behind RCB, but in the final they got the better of the Bangalore-based franchise to lift the IPL trophy for the second successive year.
Dhoni took that midas touch with him in the national colour too. As he later led India to their second ODI World Cup triumph, 28 years after Kapil Dev-led side won India’s first way back in 1983.
*Most IPL matches as captain

The aura grows…
Even though CSK’s next IPL title took seven more years to come. Dhoni, with his match-winning knocks and shrewd captaincy, guided CSK to the play-off phase every single season. With his successes in national colours and the ever growing aura in CSK’s yellow jersey, Dhoni the brand was unstoppable.
During this period, Dhoni led India to 2013 ICC Champions Trophy victory, making him the only skipper to win all ICC organised global events — T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup and Champions Trophy. And in 2014, Dhoni led CSK to their second Champions League title.
The dark cloud…
Dhoni’s successful run with CSK was abruptly halted after the 2015 season. The two-time champions, along with Rajasthan Royals, were banned for two years from the league for involvement in illegal betting by their respective owners.
Dhoni had to join a newly formed team – Rising Pune Supergiants, for the 2016 edition after spending eight successive seasons with CSK. As expected, he was made captain of the Pune-based side, but the new franchise finished a lowly 7th in its debut season. The dismal run though did not last long for Dhoni.
*Dhoni with CSK

The revival…
The dismal 2016 season did not dishearten Dhoni much as he led RPS to the final in the next edition itself, but lost the summit clash dramatically by 1 run to Mumbai Indians. It was the team’s last season in the league as they, along with Gujarat Lions, were contracted for just two seasons as a stop-gap arrangement for the two banned teams.
Dhoni then made an emotional return to CSK in 2018 and the team rose like a phoenix. Dhoni led the Chennai-based team to their third IPL title in their comeback year. Dhoni was in amazing form with the bat too, scoring 455 runs at an astounding average of 75.83. He also scored the runs in double quick time, with a strike rate of 150.66.
And in 2019, Dhoni again led CSK to the final, their eighth summit clash appearance in 10 editions in the league. But unfortunately they failed to defend the title, losing by 1 run to Mumbai Indians.
The relationship between Dhoni and IPL still continues as the journey is not over yet.