“It was a very emotional moment for me” - Sunil Gavaskar on getting MS Dhoni’s autograph on his shirt

Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has stated that getting MS Dhoni to autograph his shirt after Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was a very emotional moment for him.

CSK took on KKR in their last home game of the league stage of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Sunday, May 14. While Chennai lost the match by six wickets, there were emotional post-match scenes as Dhoni and Co. took a lap of honor at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

In a heartwarming gesture, Gavaskar went up to Dhoni and requested an autograph. Opening up on what prompted him to do so, the Indian legend told Star Sports:

"When I got to know about Chennai Super Kings and MS Dhoni are going to take a lap of honour at Chepauk, I decided to create a special memory. That's why I ran towards MSD to take his autograph. It was his last home game at Chepauk.

“Of course, he will get a chance to play here if CSK qualifies for the playoffs. But I decided to make that moment special. I was fortunate enough that someone in the camera unit had a marker pen. So, I am thankful to that person as well.”

Even as Dhoni signed Gavaskar's shirt, the crowd at Chepauk cheered them on. Praising Dhoni for obliging to his request, Gavaskar added:

"So, I went to Mahi and requested him to sign an autograph on the shirt that I was wearing. It was so nice of him to acknowledge it. It was a very emotional moment for me because this fellow has made immense contributions to Indian Cricket.”

While many reports have suggested that IPL 2023 will be Dhoni’s farewell season, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told Cricbuzz that he has a feeling that the veteran keeper-batter might play the next edition as well.

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Sunil Gavaskar on his two most special cricketing moments

During the interaction on Star Sports, the 73-year-old also went on to reveal the two most special cricketing moments for him. He said:

"Kapil Dev lifting the 1983 WC Trophy & MS Dhoni hitting that winning six in the 2011 WC final are the two cricketing moments I would love to see before I die."

India won the ODI World Cup for the first time in 1983 under Kapil and Dhoni emulated the feat in 2011.