MS Dhoni honours Sanju Samson, Dube, Mhatre at CSK event:Thala all smiles as former Yellow Army stars reunite at Chepauk

It was an evening of nostalgia, fun and energy at the MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk) as ex-Chennai Super Kings (CSK) stars reunited for a special event. The five-time champions organised a special event, ‘Roar’26’, which brought together CSK stars from the yesteryears. The event saw the former CSK stars get together with the current batch of players at Chepauk. CSK, meanwhile, have kickstarted their preparations for IPL 2026. MS Dhoni honours Sanju Samson, Ayush Mhatre and Shivam Dube One of the segments of this special CSK event saw Dhoni honour India’s T20 World Cup-winning stars Shivam Dube and Sanju Samson, much to the joy of fans present at Chepauk. Dhoni handed out mementos to both Samson and Dube as recognition of their efforts in India’s T20 World Cup win earlier in March. Dhoni also awarded a memento to young Ayush Mhatre, who led India to the ICC U-19 World Cup title earlier this year. Mhatre, who came in as a replacement for Ruturaj Gaikwad last year, is set to be an integral part of CSK’s plans this year. MS Dhoni reunites with former CSK teammates Apart from honouring India’s ICC trophy winners this year, the event brought together all the legends who once donned CSK’s yellow jersey and achieved laurels in the IPL. CSK greats like Suresh Raina, Matthew Hayden, Mike Hussey, and Dwayne Bravo, among others. Not only did the legends reunite, but they also played against the current CSK players. In viral videos, Raina, Hayden and Hussey were seen rolling back time and hitting some big shots. Raina smashed a huge hit off Noor Ahmad’s bowling while Hayden and Hussey batted against Dube and Ruturaj Gaikwad, respectively. CSK start campaign vs Rajasthan Royals CSK will look to start their campaign on a high as they take on the inaugural IPL champions, Rajasthan Royals, on 30 March. The match will be played at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati and is set to start at 7:30 pm. CSK’s first home match this season is against Punjab Kings on 3 April. The five-time champions have two more fixtures in the first phase of IPL 2026- vs RCB on 5 April in Bengaluru and against Delhi Capitals in Chennai on 11 April.