Fans Erect MS Dhoni's Massive 52-Feet Cut-out in Hyderabad Ahead of 42nd Birthday of 'Thala'

Ahead of MS Dhoni’s 42nd birthday, a giant cut-out of the former Indian captain is garnering traction across social media. The massive picture, which is said to be around 52 feet tall, has been prepared by some Hyderabad-based Dhoni fans to celebrate the birthday of their idol on July 7.

These arrangements shouldn’t come as a surprise since Dhoni, as the captain of Chennai Super Kings, has recently added the fifth IPL title to his outstanding trophy cabinet, sending his fans into a frenzy. Soon after a photograph of Dhoni’s cutout was dropped on Twitter, fans were quick to underline the passion for cricket among the people of Hyderabad and their admiration for Dhoni.

In the photo, Dhoni is all padded up donning the Indian jersey while holding a bat in his hand. The giant cutout certainly highlights the “craze for MS Dhoni” among Indian people.

The comment section saw a number of MS Dhoni fans showing their respect for the legendary captain. Some also highlighted Captain Cool’s contribution to the sport. Dhoni goes by a plethora of nicknames among the fans and one made another inclusion to the list, commenting, “Thala– The Don.”

Spending almost 15 years in the international circuit, MS Dhoni has won everything that a captain could. After becoming the captain of the Indian T20I squad, Dhoni lifted the inaugural T20 World Cup title in 2007. Under his leadership, the Men in Blue won the 2011 ODI World Cup before taking home the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013.

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During his international career, MS Dhoni has played 350 ODIs and 95 Tests, scoring 10,773 and 4,876 runs respectively. He has sported the Blue for India in 98 T20Is and has aggregated a total of 1617 runs. Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket in 2020. But he decided to continue playing for CSK in the IPL.

In his IPL career, MS Dhoni has played as many as 10 finals of the franchise tournament since joining CSK in the inaugural 2008 edition. His first first-ever IPL triumph came in 2011 when Chennai beat their arch-rivals Mumbai Indians in the summit showdown. Since then, Dhoni and Co have engraved their name on the IPL trophy in 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023.