After missing IPL, MS Dhoni promotes inaugural edition of Jharkhand T20 league
MS Dhoni attended the opening ceremony of the inaugural Jharkhand T20 League in Ranchi on Wednesday. His presence gave the new tournament a high-profile start.
For the first time in over two decades, MS Dhoni watched an entire IPL season from the outside. A nagging injury kept him off the Chennai Super Kings squad for IPL 2026, and the familiar sight of Dhoni crouching behind the stumps at Chepauk, or anywhere else, was conspicuously absent. For a man who has rarely let cricket happen without him, it was an unusual kind of quiet.
But Dhoni has found his way back to a cricket ground, and fittingly, it is the one closest to home.
The former India captain was present at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi for the opening ceremony of the inaugural Jharkhand T20 League — dressed in a black polo shirt and shades, looking every bit at ease in the stands as he ever did behind them. He watched the first match of the season alongside a crowd that still saves its loudest noise for the man who put Jharkhand cricket on the map.
The league, organised by the Jharkhand State Cricket Association in partnership with AV24 Sports Private Limited, will feature 27 matches across two weeks, including the semi-finals and final — all at the JSCA complex. Six franchises — Ranchi Titans, Jamshedpur Steelers, Chota Nagpur Royals, Koylanchal Super Kings, Dhanbad Diamonds and Santhal Strikers — will compete for the trophy.
JSCA president Ajay Nath Shah Deo called it a significant milestone for cricket in the state, one built to inspire the next generation. Honorary secretary Saurabh Tiwary, himself a former India international who came up through Jharkhand cricket, echoed that: the league, he said, would give young players the chance to perform alongside experienced campaigners. Honorary joint secretary Shahbaz Nadeem — another Jharkhand product who made it to the India dressing room — described it as two weeks of competitive cricket while opening doors for emerging talent.
Whether Dhoni's presence in the stands was ceremonial or something more personal is hard to say. But for a league trying to signal its seriousness to the state, having the most famous cricketer Jharkhand has ever produced watching from the front row is not a bad way to begin.
For the first time in over two decades, MS Dhoni watched an entire IPL season from the outside. A nagging injury kept him off the Chennai Super Kings squad for IPL 2026, and the familiar sight of Dhoni crouching behind the stumps at Chepauk, or anywhere else, was conspicuously absent. For a man who has rarely let cricket happen without him, it was an unusual kind of quiet.
But Dhoni has found his way back to a cricket ground, and fittingly, it is the one closest to home.
The former India captain was present at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi for the opening ceremony of the inaugural Jharkhand T20 League — dressed in a black polo shirt and shades, looking every bit at ease in the stands as he ever did behind them. He watched the first match of the season alongside a crowd that still saves its loudest noise for the man who put Jharkhand cricket on the map.
The league, organised by the Jharkhand State Cricket Association in partnership with AV24 Sports Private Limited, will feature 27 matches across two weeks, including the semi-finals and final — all at the JSCA complex. Six franchises — Ranchi Titans, Jamshedpur Steelers, Chota Nagpur Royals, Koylanchal Super Kings, Dhanbad Diamonds and Santhal Strikers — will compete for the trophy.
JSCA president Ajay Nath Shah Deo called it a significant milestone for cricket in the state, one built to inspire the next generation. Honorary secretary Saurabh Tiwary, himself a former India international who came up through Jharkhand cricket, echoed that: the league, he said, would give young players the chance to perform alongside experienced campaigners. Honorary joint secretary Shahbaz Nadeem — another Jharkhand product who made it to the India dressing room — described it as two weeks of competitive cricket while opening doors for emerging talent.
Whether Dhoni's presence in the stands was ceremonial or something more personal is hard to say. But for a league trying to signal its seriousness to the state, having the most famous cricketer Jharkhand has ever produced watching from the front row is not a bad way to begin.
