File photo of MS Dhoni (right) and Suresh Raina
Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has surpassed fellow teammate Suresh Raina to become the highest capped player in the history of the Indian Premier League. CSK's match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday marks Dhoni's 194th appearance in the tournament.
Raina, who missed out on this year’s IPL due to personal reasons, took to Twitter to congratulate his friend and captain, saying he is sure CSK will beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in Dubai on Friday.
While Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma is at third in the list with 192 appearances, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik (185 appearances) and Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli (180 appearances) closely follow at fourth and fifth spot respectively.
Raina earlier left the CSK camp in the UAE to return to India to be with his family citing personal reasons.
MS Dhoni also remains only two sixes shy to become the 20th batsman to hit 300 sixes in the shortest format of the game. Among Indians, he would become the third to join the list after Rohit Sharma (371) and Suresh Raina (311).
Dhoni's CSK is currently at the bottom of the IPL 2020 table with two points in three matches. The side plays after a break of six days, following successive defeats against Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals.
However, Dhoni's side is boosted with the return of Ambati Rayudu and Dwayne Bravo in the playing XI for the game against SRH. While Rayudu faced an injury after CSK's opening game against Mumbai Indians, Bravo will make his first appearance in the 2020 edition.
SRH, meanwhile, registered their first victory of the tournament earlier this week when they beat Delhi Capitals by 15 runs.
