Watch: Crowd goes berserk, mobs MS Dhoni at airport as CSK captain steps foot in Chennai ahead of IPL 2023; video viral

Dhoni, who retired from international cricket in August 2020, could be seen being gifted with a bouquet and clicking photos with fans after arriving at the hotel. Since then, his arrival in CSK’s team hotel and him commencing his net practice sessions at the Chepauk Stadium has often marked the beginning of the IPL season in the country.

Dhoni could be seen welcomed with dholaks a shower of flowers upon arrival at the Chennai airport. A number of fans can also been trying to take pictures of him as the CSK captain gets ushered to his vehicle. The festivities continued after he arrived at the hotel as well. In another video shared by the CSK themselves, Dhoni could be seen receiving a bouquet and posing for a photo with a young fan as well before making his way to his room.

CSK also shared videos of other stars arriving at the team hotel. Among these were Ambati Rayudu and former India Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane. All-rounder Shivam Dube also posed for the cameras upon arrival at the team hotel.

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Dhoni had stepped down as captain of the team at the start of the 2022 IPL season, handing over the reins to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. However, after a horrid run of form that pretty much ruled CSK out of contention for the knockout stages for just the second time in their history, Dhoni became captain again. The former India captain is now 41 and speculation has been rife about whether the 2023 IPL season could be his last. CSK officials have been quoted as saying that many within the franchise believe that this could the season.

Dhoni himself stated that he didn’t want to quit playing the IPL without playing in front of the fans at the Chepauk stadium, something that hasn’t been possible over the last two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “It’s a simple reason: it will be unfair to not play in Chennai and say thank you. Mumbai is one place, where, as a team and as an individual, I have got a lot of love and affection. But it wouldn’t be nice to the CSK fans,” Dhoni had said last year.

“And also, hopefully, next year there will be an opportunity where the teams will be traveling so it will be like (saying) thank you to all the different places where we will be playing games at different venues,” Dhoni had added. The 2022 season of the IPL marked a return for the tournament to India. While the 2020 season of the IPL was held entirely in the UAE due to the pandemic in India, the 2021 season was set to be held in Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Chennai, with Mumbai. However, the season was postponed halfway through due to the outbreak of the second wave of the pandemic and the remainder of it was played in the UAE. While the 2022 season was played entirely in India, it was only hosted in three stadiums in Mumbai alongwith Pune, Kolkata and Ahmedabad. The 2023 season marks a return to the home and away format and this means that Chennai fans will once again be able to cheer for their beloved CSK at the Chepauk stadium for the first time since 2019.