"Inke joh fan hai, woh asli hai" - Harbhajan Singh's stunning remark on MS Dhoni and CSK amid IPL 2025 resumption

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh gave his observation on Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) and MS Dhoni's fan base amid IPL 2025's resumption after a week-long suspension. The former CSK spinner commented that the fan base of the Yellow Army and the keeper-batter is real, with most others' are paid ones.

Despite retiring from international cricket in 2020, the 43-year-old continues to drive fans crazy and draws enormous crowd during IPL fixtures. With Dhoni being part of the Super Kings since 2008 and ushering the franchise to title glory on five occasions, the veteran especially enjoys a demigod status at the Chepauk Stadium.

Speaking on JioStar, the 44-year-old stated:

"Kitna bacha hua hai aur jab tak dum hai khelo bhai. Meri team hoti to shayad main kuch aur decision leta. Aur seedhi si baat hai fan to chahenge kyunki unke fan jo hai. Mujhe lagta hai ki sabse zyada fan agar asal wale fan jo hai wo unke hi hai (CSK). Baaki to ye bane banaye hai jo aajkal social media aadha to paid hi chalta hai par ye inke fan jo hai wo asali hai. Inke jo fan hai wo sahi mein fan hai. Baaki yahan wahan jo aap number dekhte ho wo chhodiye number unke upar kabhi baithenge to charcha karenge."

(Till whenever you can play, you should. But I would have taken a different decision had it been my team. Fans would usually want their players to play for as long as they can. I feel if any cricketer has real fans, those are for the Chennai Super Kings. Most other cricketer's fans are paid ones. But MS Dhoni and CSK have real fans).

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The former Indian captain is not only the most-capped player in IPL history (273) but also the most-capped skipper, leading in 233 fixtures. The keeper-batter is the joint-most successful captain in the tournament history alongside Rohit Sharma.

MS Dhoni took over Chennai Super Kings' captain midway IPL 2025

Meanwhile, the responsibility to lead the five-time champions came upon Dhoni's shoulders after Ruturaj Gaikwad's elbow injury sidelined him from IPL 2025. However, the Super Kings still find themselves out of playoff race and have won only two matches since the 43-year-old became captain.

They are currently tenth in the points table with three wins in 12 fixtures. As far as the keeper-batter's performances go, he has managed 180 runs in 12 games at 25.71.

About the author

Aayushman is a cricket journalist at Sportskeeda who covers news, features and listicles. A Finance graduate with a diploma in journalism, he has a total work experience of around 7 years and has bylines at reputed websites like Free Press Journal, Cricket Addictor, and Roar. Aayushman believes in presenting all the relevant information and facts in his articles to let the readers form their own opinions. His exploits in the industry have led to interview former Australia stalwart David Hussey.

A former Tata Consultancy Services employee, Aayushman has been supporting the Australian men's national team after being impressed with their aggressive and never-say-die attitude in the 2003 ICC World Cup. His favorite cricketer is Steve Smith, whose tremendous self-belief in his methods, despite them being unorthodox, inspire him a lot. Smith’s performances from 2019 Ashes Series only fueled this inspiration further. He would like to revisit the 2015 ICC World Cup semi-final clash between India and Australia if ever got hold of a time machine.

When not working, Aayushman loves to spend his spare time reading fiction books and watching one of his favorite television shows Grey's Anatomy.

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Edited by Vaishnavi Iyer