Abu Dhabi: He has retired from all forms of international cricket. However, records and MS Dhoni seem to go hand in hand. The former Indian skipper became Monday the first cricketer to play 200 games in the IPL. It is a feat that some may match in the current edition of the IPL but no one has done it before MS Dhoni. The wicketkeeper-batsman achieved the unique distinction as he led the Chennai Super Kings (RR) into their game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) here Monday.
During the entire history of the IPL, Dhoni has played for the Chennai franchise save for the two years when CSK were suspended from the event. In all editions of the IPL he has been the captain of CSK which indeed is another unique feat. As captain Dhoni has won the maximum number of matches (107) in the IPL. He also holds the record of maximum number stumpings (38) in the IPL.
Out of the 200 games Dhoni has played in the IPL, 170 have been for CSK. The remaining 30 were for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiants in 2016 and 2017.
Others who are close to Dhoni’s record are Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma (197), Suresh Raina (193) and Kolkata Knight Riders’ player Dinesh Karthik (191). Rohit may equal Dhoni’s feat in this edition of the IPL itself. However, Raina who opted out of this year’s tournament and Karthik may have to wait another season for matching Dhoni’s feat.
So far, Dhoni has scored 4,568 runs in the IPL, of which 3,994 are for CSK. When he walks out to bat, he will be six runs shy of scoring 4,000 runs for CSK, only the second after Raina to get there.