The IPL 2024 journey of Chennai Super Kings has ended on a sad note as they got knocked out of the tournament after losing their last league match to Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, the IPL 2023 was won by CSK and it was a perfect occasion for MS Dhoni to say goodbye to the IPL but he chose to play for one more season for his fans.
In this season, MS Dhoni was suffering from a muscle tear and he was advised by doctors to take rest but he chose to play and support the new skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad which has increased admiration for him among his fans.
The head coach of Lucknow Super Giants, Justin Langer was awestruck with the fandom of MS Dhoni as not just Chepauk stadium, Chennai but all the stadiums where CSK went to play were painted yellow by the CSK fans as they came in huge numbers in CSK 7 number jerseys.
This is what Justin Langer said about hero worship in India, “It’s extraordinary. I heard about it first; then we played them [CSK] twice. They came to Lucknow, and our capacity crowd [in Ekana Stadium] is about 50,000, and honestly, there would have been 48,000 MS Dhoni number seven shirts. I couldn’t believe it, and then we went to CSK, and there wasn’t 98%; there was 100%. And it’s unbelievable. The hero worship in India is unbelievable. And look, I felt it when we played in India before as a player, particularly with Sachin Tendulkar. Then, when I was coaching with [Australia], Virat Kohli, and MS Dhoni, But when you get over there, it’s unbelievable.”
However, there is a negative side to hero worship too as Justin Langer gave the example of Mumbai Indians new skipper Hardik Pandya. He said, “And I saw the flip side of it as well because Rohit Sharma is a huge hero in India as India captain. And what happened with Mumbai Indians this year… Hardik Pandya took over as the captain from Rohit Sharma. The much-loved Rohit Sharma. And it was really sad to watch. You know, he got booed every game by the Indian crowds. He’s the vice-captain of the Indian T20I squad. So, I saw both sides of it. I learned this from Jonty Rhodes and Morne Morkel, who’d been to the IPL before. Rather than getting upset by it, go with the flow.”
What is your take on hero worship in India?
