IPL 2023: There cannot be a bigger cricketer than Dhoni in India, says Harbhajan

MS Dhoni's former India teammate Harbhajan Singh has claimed there cannot be a "bigger cricketer" in the country than the former India captain.

Under Dhoni's captaincy, India won three ICC trophies: Cricket World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy, while he has also led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to four Indian Premier League (IPL) titles, while finishing as runners up five times.

The CSK skipper recently became the first ever captain to lead in 200 IPL matches.

Ahead of CSK's home match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Friday, Harbhajan, who also played under Dhoni at CSK, said no one has a bigger fanbase than Dhoni.

"Mahendra Singh Dhoni is only one. There cannot be a bigger cricketer than him in India. Someone could have scored more runs than him and someone could have taken more wickets than him, but no one has a bigger fanbase than him," Harbhajan said on Star Sports.

"Dhoni has accepted this fandom to heart and he respects his teammates as well. He walks with so much love and emotion that anyone else would go mad, but Dhoni has carried this love and emotion in his heart for 15 years and he still hasn't changed at all," Harbhajan added.

'Shivam Dube's hitting range is tremendous'

Harbhajan, who retired from all forms of cricket in December 2021, also hailed CSK's batting all-rounder Shivam Dube for his striking ability, saying the four-time champions CSK back players with such qualities. Harbhajan also said that Dube should get more opportunities at the top of CSK's batting line-up.

"Shivam Dube's hitting range is tremendous. Whenever the ball comes into his hitting arc, he dispatches it for a biggie. CSK banks a lot on players with such qualities. Shivam should continue to get opportunities to bat at the top," Harbhajan said.

When SRH take field in Chennai on Friday, they'll be looking to finally beat CSK at Chepauk.

Meanwhile, speaking in a video released by CSK on their Youtube channel, Dube said last season was his best in the IPL so far, adding that scoring runs against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) gave him a lot of self-confidence. Dube remained unbeaten at 95 against RCB, while scoring 289 runs in IPL 2022.

"Last season was the best IPL in my career till now. I got the chance to show what I can do. When I played against LSG, I felt that I can achieve something at this level. After that innings, I felt that I could score runs at this stage and that I have ample time while batting in the position that I do. Scoring 95 against RCB also gave me a huge confidence boost," said Dube.

Dube revealed that CSK skipper Dhoni told him to be fearless, and that message has motivated and encouraged him to do well in the ongoing IPL 2023.

"Mahi Bhai (MS Dhoni) once told me something and those are the most encouraging and motivating words for me. 'You're good, just be fearless'," said Dube, before adding that he has improved all aspects of his game since last season.

Dube scored a match-winning half-century in CSK's latest victory over RCB in the ongoing 2023 season of the IPL. The Mumbai-born cricketer has scored 134 runs in five matches this season.