Chennai Super Kings’ exit from IPL 2024 left CSK fans facing a bitter pill as the dream of seeing MS Dhoni hoisting the trophy at Chepauk remained unfulfilled. Speculation has been rife over Dhoni’s future in the league, with Royal Challengers Bangalore players coming under scrutiny for allegedly neglecting the traditional handshake with the veteran cricketer.
Former players and pundits slammed RCB for excessive joy, suggesting that their over-enthusiastic celebration led Dhoni to walk away without exchanging pleasantries. However, a video circulated on social media refutes these claims.
A social media user alleged that Dhoni immediately walked off the field without shaking hands with the RCB players, and slammed those criticizing the home team for excessive celebration.
Amid the handshake controversy, RCB faced sharp criticism from cricket personalities like Harsha Bhogle and Michael Vaughan for the lack of respect towards Dhoni.
Vaughan commented, ‘This is an iconic player. I wouldn’t want to be an RCB player tomorrow morning thinking, ‘Wait a minute, MS Dhoni has announced his retirement and we don’t have the decency to go and shake his hand first.’
‘It doesn’t matter. You win the World Cup final, you show your emotions, but you still shake hands with the opponent. That handshake symbolizes that (the two teams are saying) ‘Now, our rivalry is over.’ We didn’t give each other even an inch. Now it is over,” Bhogle said.