Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the first cricketer to play in 200 Indian Premier League matches when he took the field against Rajasthan Royals on Monday.
Earlier this month, he overtook Suresh Raina (194 games) to become the player with most appearances in the T20 tournament.
The 39-year-old however played down the milestone saying he became aware it only when informed presenter Danny Morrison at the toss.
“You spoke about it and that’s how I got to know,” CSK skipper Dhoni said at toss. “It feels good but at the same time it’s just a number. I feel fortunate to play for such a long time without many injuries.”
In a match that is important for both the teams, CSK won the toss and opted to bat at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Dhoni has been the captain of CSK since the inception of IPL in 2008. When the franchise was suspended for two years over a fixing scandal, the veteran represented Rising Pune Supergiant.
In the match against Rajasthan on Monday, Dhoni also completed 4,000 runs for Chennai.
In 199 games, the former India captain amassed 4,568 runs, which includes 23 fifties, with a highest score of 84 not out. His strike-rate reads 137.67. With 215 maximums, Dhoni also ranks third in the list of big-hitters in the tournament after Chris Gayle (333 sixes) and AB de Villiers (231 sixes).
In this season, he has scored 136 runs in nine outings before Monday’s match.
With PTI inputs
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