Chepauk was wrapped in a cricketing time capsule – one where the past and the present met.
The hallowed MA Chidambaram cricket ground has seen thrilling sporting clashes, thanks to it hosting some great India and Chennai Super Kings matches. But Sunday evening was about something different: celebrating what the men in yellow have meant to Chennaiites over the years.
It was, in many ways, a pat on the back for the 20,000 people assembled to witness ‘Roar 26’. A sea of yellow engulfed Chepauk as passionate fans brought out the whistles — not just for this curtain raiser for the upcoming IPL 2026, but also for a musical concert by AR Rahman. Here, key highlights from the ‘Roar 26’ event, held at Chepauk on Sunday evening:
Other cities have cricket franchises. Chennai has an emotion — the Chennai Super Kings. One to which every player returns, years after moving away from cricket, and some even a decade after moving on to other franchises. That probably explains why players like Mutthiah Muralidharan, Joginder Sharma, Murali Vijay, Harbhajan Singh, Dwayne Bravo and Michael Hussey — few of the names that have contributed significantly to the success of the team over the years — lined up to have a friendly cricketing clash with the current CSK squad.
Watching the OG squad in action got every cricketing fan in the stadium go down memory lane. “These players were an integral part of my growing-up years,” says Rakesh M, a fan from Ashok Nagar, “As fans, we now back different players, but when you look back at our franchise’s history, these are the OG stars that started the fandom.” With veteran Muralidharan bowling to the current sensation, Sanju Samson, even as MS Dhoni crouched low behind the stumps, Chennai slipped into a different decade.
If the city took on to MS Dhoni in a big way, even calling him ‘Thala’ wherever he went, his trusted lieutenant was none other than ‘Chinna Thala’ Suresh Raina. Chennai’s love affair with Raina — fondly dubbed Mr IPL — has lasted several years and the loud cheers he received at the ground, something that spectators usually reserve only for Dhoni, showcased how much he means to the city.
Along with Matthew Hayden, Raina was inducted into the franchise’s first-ever Hall of Fame. Part of four IPL-winning CSK squads in the past, Raina stated, “CSK is the best franchise and they have the best fans in the world. The crowd here is very knowledgeable — they know their cricket — and have been so supportive to the team over the years; that’s why we got all those trophies.”
In 2018-19, when Team CSK practised at Chepauk in the evenings before the commencement of the tournament, thousands of fans enthusiastically cheered them. The sight of more than 12,000 fans lining up just to watch a practice match had the cricketing community across the world in awe.
Sunday evening presented a similar experience, with the current squad of 2026, including the likes of Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube and Noor Ahmed, getting some time at the nets, which Chennai cheered with much fervour.
Post the cricketing highlights and nostalgia, the stage was set for music. If Asal Kolaar and Paal Dabba got the crowd grooving to popular tracks like ‘Makamishi’ and ‘Paiya Dei’, the Mozart of Madras, AR Rahman, kickstarted with an energetic ‘Yuva’, following by Shweta Mohan-driven melodies (‘Nenjinile’ and ‘Munbe Vaa’), dedicated to Sanju Samson and Suresh Raina. The loudest cheers were dedicated to the popular ‘Nee Singam Dan’ tracks, with the cameras panning on MS Dhoni vibing to the track along with his daughter.
Actor Sivakarthikeyan, who said he was invited as a representative of CSK fans, turned into a fanboy as he excitedly shook hands with Dhoni, Sanju and posed for photographs with the team. “I live 25 kilometres from Chepauk – on the ECR – but whenever Dhoni walks in, I can hear the noise back home. I am just one of the many fans here who have been inspired by his leadership skills. IPL can be about entertainment, but CSK has always been an emotion and family,” said the actor, referring to Dhoni as Mufasa and current captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, as Simba.
Singling out the latest CSK entrant Sanju Samson, affectionately called ‘Cheta’ by fans, he said, “We all know of the bonding between Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Malayalam films are hits here. All the heroines from Kerala are superhits here. And now, you are a cricketer from Kerala representing Chennai... you are a blockbuster.”
The class of 2026 is new. Prashant Veer, Karthik Sharma and Sarfaraz Khan are some of the exciting new players to watch out for. . The faces may have changed, but the emotion and belief remains the same. This IPL 2026, the whistles are back.
