Tushar Deshpande Recalls MS Dhoni’s Hilarious Prank On Chepauk Crowd

Tushar Deshpande shared a funny story from his CSK days when MS Dhoni tricked the Chepauk crowd during a match against KKR.

Star pacer Tushar Deshpande first came into the spotlight after joining Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League. He spent his early IPL years under the leadership of the legendary MS Dhoni. Ahead of the IPL 2025 season, Chennai released Deshpande, and Rajasthan Royals picked him up at the auction.

Recently, the Mumbai-born cricketer appeared in a conversation with veteran batter Ajinkya Rahane on his show Chasing The Dreams. During the chat, Rahane asked Deshpande to share his funniest memory from his time in the CSK dressing room. The pacer recalled a hilarious incident when Dhoni fooled the entire Chepauk crowd by asking Ravindra Jadeja to pretend to walk out to bat before him during a league match against Kolkata Knight Riders.

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Deshpande Recalls Dhoni’s Prank

“I remember when we were at CSK and playing against KKR at Chepauk, the crowd there was expecting that MS Dhoni would come out to bat, and I was just sitting in the dugout. But Mahi bhai asked me to tell Ravindra Jadeja that he has to pretend to go out for batting,” Deshpande told Rahane on the latter’s show Chasing The Dreams.

“I went up to Jaddu bhai and told the same thing, and then Mahi bhai will come from behind. So I was there witnessing the whole scene. When Jadeja came out, the crowd went silent, and then suddenly Mahi bhai entered from behind, and the stadium erupted with excitement to see him come out to bat. So it was kind of funny and kind of goosebumps moment,” he concluded.

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Over the past few seasons, Dhoni has often walked out to bat much lower down the order for CSK. The reason behind this change is believed to be his ongoing knee issues, for which he underwent surgery in recent years. With the 44-year-old still undecided about his future, fans are eagerly waiting to see if he will play another season for the five-time champions in the 2026 IPL.