‘My beard has gone grey and I’m having difficulty walking’: Fans decode MS Dhoni’s message as he waves from Trent Bridge stand
Former Indian team captain MS Dhoni He celebrated his 45th birthday with a rare public appearance on Trent Bridge on Tuesday. Dhoni was seen in the stands during the third T20I between India and England, eliciting massive cheers from the crowd.
While the broadcast cameras are trained on the smiling veteran, Indian cricket is outstanding Sunil Gavaskar Take the opportunity to send an on-air greeting.
“Oh, here’s the birthday boy, MS Dhoni. He turns 45 today, and yet he still looks like he’s 26. For my part, I would like to wish a very happy birthday to the greatest captain India has ever seen.” Gavaskar said in the caption. He also echoed the desperate sentiments of millions Chennai Super Kings Fans: “I hope he plays one more season in the Indian Premier League for CSK because I want to see him in the yellow jersey one last time.”
Separately, Dhoni gave a fan a classic response, saying: “I’m old now. My beard is grey, I can barely walk.”
MS Dhoni missed IPL 2026
One can forgive the CSK faithful for feeling nervous. The former captain, who scored 5,439 runs in 278 matches and led Chibok to a joint-record five ISL titles, has not featured since the 2025 ISL season (he was sidelined for the entire 2026 campaign due to injury). At the age of 45, there is no guarantee that he will don the yellow jersey again in the 2027 edition of the tournament, so the biggest worry is that one of Indian cricket’s most famous sons will never get a farewell match.
Fans remember the results of his recent appearance in India colors well. After the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final defeat to New Zealand in Manchester, in which he scored a half-century but was dismissed by a tight run, Dhoni withdrew from the public eye for almost a year. Then, in August 2020, after months of speculation about whether he would return to the national team, he abruptly retired, via a simple announcement on Instagram: “Thank you so much for your love and support throughout. As of 1929, consider me retired.” (sic) He finished his international career with 17,200 caps and 829 dismissals to his name, across 538 matches for Team India.
The lingering fear is that his career in the franchise could end with a similarly abrupt social media post, without any fanfare or farewell. But millions hope that Thala has one last voyage left in it.
