MS Dhoni is ahead of Tendulkar and Kohli, says India legend

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Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar reckons there is no one bigger than Mahendra Singh Dhoni in Indian cricket. The former India captain is the most popular figure in the country when it comes to cricket, according to the current commentator.

IPL 2023 has made a blockbuster start as defending Champions Gujarat Titans beat Chennai Super Kings in the first match of the season on Friday (March 31). MS Dhoni-led CSK started their campaign with a loss, but the former India captain garnered humongous support when he came into bat in the match.

Even before the match during the opening ceremony, Dhoni, Dhoni! chant was reverberating around the entire Narendra Modi stadium. The roar when he came into bat was unmatched and the broadcasters JioCinema managed 1.6 crore people tuning in to their live stream during Dhoni's batting in the final over of the CSK inning.

The amount of love, respect and craze MS Dhoni has in India is unfathomable. And Sunil Gavaskar believes the CSK captain is the numero uno in Indian cricket's all-time popularity meter.

"You can't really get anyone bigger than MS Dhoni in Indian cricket. There's Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar, but I've seen how MS overtaken them. The electricity he generates is different among crowd when he steps on the field," Gavaskar said during the first match.

Sachin Tendulkar is regarded as the God of Cricket and still has innumerable fans across the country, while Virat Kohli's persona and class has made him the heartthrob of the youth in the country. But Dhoni's popularity not only comes because of his fierce batting, but his demeanour, unbelievable cricket brain and his achievements as India captain.

MS Dhoni scored 14 runs off just 7 balls in his inning against GT, and also hit a massive six. The CSK skipper now has scored 667 runs off just 274 balls in the 20th over of an IPL match throughout the years. He has hit 49 fours and has cleared the fence 53 times.