With this year’s edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) only days away, the excitement among the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fans is evident as the ‘men in yellow’ return to the competition after a gap of two years.
In addition to CSK’s comeback, MS Dhoni’s return as the captain of the side has given Chennai fans another reason to celebrate. The fans cannot get enough of their ‘whistle podu’ anthem and their ‘thala’ Dhoni.
CSK will be facing the Mumbai Indians in Mumbai on 7 April, in the first match of this year’s IPL.
Earlier this year, CSK retained its former captain, Dhoni, for Rs 15 crore. Harbhajan Singh, who has played for the Mumbai Indians all these years will also be seen donning the yellow jersey this year. But it will be the local boy R Ashwin who will be missed. Ashwin, who was neither retained nor picked up by CSK, will be leading Kings XI Punjab.
Fans are leaving no stones unturned to ensure that CSK gets a grand return to the IPL. The Internet has been bombarded with tons of CSK videos, which include tributes to Dhoni and new fan-made anthems.
Even marketers are making full use of the tournament and CSK’s popularity in the southern state.
Let’s take a look at some the videos which are taking social media by storm.
Rajinikanth’s ‘Kaala’ Trailer - CSK Version
Wunderbar Films, the company owned by Rajinikanth's son-in-law Dhanush, is the producer of ‘Kaala’. And they have released a trailer featuring M S Dhoni and other CSK players.
There have been numerous videos and memes Tamil-ising Dhoni. He's even been called the 'thalaiva' of cricket in Chennai.
This is both a tribute and ode, by Dhoni to Rajinikanth, and to Dhoni by Wunderbar.
CSK Anthem 2.0
Premgi Amaren is a Tamil film actor, and the son of a Gangai Amaren, a famous yesteryear composer, who happens to be composer Ilaiyaraaja's brother.
Premgi's connect with cricket and with Chennai is undisputed. He's a huge fan, and his biggest hit to date is Chennai-28, where he plays gully cricket for his underdog team. He's a comedian, who's serious about his cricket and his biryani, in that order.
From ‘Kabali’ dialogues, to auto-annas, to 'whistle-podu', this one has it all.
#CSKReturns Anthem
This one's gone viral simply because of its sick dance moves, and ‘dappanguthu’ roots; a rustic high-energy music and a dance form that originated in the fishing colonies of Chennai.
You won't see any recognisable faces or names you could drop at a party, but the video's clocked over 8 lakh views in less than a week.
Dear CSK
Produced by 'Fully', a YouTube channel and company that specialises in Tamil pop content, this isn't a music video, but needs to be on this list. It's the story of a woman who's been able to break gender stereotypes, thanks to the first CSK match she went to, in 2008. It's in Tamil, but YouTube’s subtitles are spot on. If you want to feel the pulse of Chennai, with respect to CSK, this will help.
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