- Ashwin observed Dhoni’s lap of honor lacked visible happiness.
- He questioned Dhoni’s absence from previous home matches.
- Ashwin pondered if Dhoni avoided attention, affecting fans.
- The spinner cited Dhoni’s public adoration as part of sport.
Legendary India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has sparked widespread conversation by claiming that MS Dhoni appeared visibly unhappy during Chennai Super Kings’ customary lap of honour in Chennai. The veteran wicketkeeper-batsman made his first public appearance at the ground this season on Monday, having previously spent the initial phase of IPL 2026 recovering from a calf injury.
An Unexpected Assessment Of Chepauk Celebrations
The five-time champions conducted a post-match procession following their final home fixture against Sunrisers Hyderabad to officially thank the local supporters at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Watching the proceedings unfold from an analytical perspective, Ashwin confessed that the iconic captain’s body language lacked the spontaneous joy that routinely defines his public interactions.
“The point is MS Dhoni loves CSK a lot. But what I saw yesterday during the lap, that love was not visible to me. I just did not feel that happiness. I don’t know why,” said Ashwin on a video on his YouTube channel.
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Questioning The Total Visual Isolation
The modern spin asset openly questioned why the legendary leader chose to completely avoid the team environment during their previous stadium assignments this year.
Franchise officials had previously hinted that the veteran star was intentionally keeping away from active team sheets to protect the balance of the evolving starting line-up.
“My question is this: MS Dhoni has been part of this team for so many years and has been in the dressing room for every match. Even if he is not playing, he could still come to the ground. I’m thinking in my mind why MS Dhoni decided not to come to the ground on even one occasion for the match because we saw him practicing in the nets,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
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The Responsibility Towards Passionate Supporters
The articulate bowler concluded his commentary by debating whether a desire to avoid stealing media focus from the active playing group was inadvertently impacting the fans.
He argued that dealing with massive public adoration remains a fundamental part of elite sport and shouldn’t cause an athlete to completely retreat from view.
“Is it a matter of thinking that if I go there, all attention will be on me and it might disturb the team? But then that would mean you are keeping crowds away and not allowing fans to experience it properly. This is part and parcel of the game,” he added on his digital broadcast channel.
