Cricket icon Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Saturday returned to competitive action after 437 days — a period that seemed an eternity to his fans — with an unusual beard that would be something between a goatee and full-grown one, and a new hairstyle. But his wicket-keeping was spot-on as he grabbed two catches and didn’t concede a single bye in Mumbai Indians’ 162/9 in the IPL opener against Chennai Super Kings in Abu Dhabi.
And when the TV ran commercials between the overs, 39-year-old Dhoni made his presence felt in that space too. He seemed to be appearing in every second advertisement, for different products and in different looks — from endorsing mutual funds to a fantasy sports app.
Seeing their favourite cricketer in an all-new avatar got Dhoni fans talking. Many others drew parallels between him and Tamil actor Suriya who rocked a similar look in 2013’s Singam 2.
Dhoni back with beard look 👌 pic.twitter.com/M4inQcIHwW
— Tej (@Annaya413) September 19, 2020
I m in love with #Dhoni new look pic.twitter.com/Y3jprwt9sD
— Abhilasha Singh (@AbhilashaS76) September 20, 2020
Thala #Dhoni In singam Look 😍🔥#SooraraiPottru #ipl2020schedule pic.twitter.com/YmT0yloTbE
— Suriya Fans Members ™ (@SuriyaFCMembers) September 19, 2020
MS Dhoni in New Look 🔥 #MIvCSK #WhistlePodu
📷- @BCCI pic.twitter.com/DpVMNWPKKR— 🇮🇳Er.HIMANSU BISWAL🇮🇳 (@himansubiswal13) September 19, 2020
Dhoni's Beard Look 🔥😎 pic.twitter.com/5k2jLYWSIZ
— Being-Deepak (@MegastarFan2712) September 19, 2020
hmm dhoni is looking fit.. looks like singam moustache
— i (@xMselva) September 19, 2020
#அன்புத்தலைவன்சூர்யா#SooraraiPottru#CSKvsMI Thala dhoni look like singam suriya 😎 see his moustache looks like singam meesai pic.twitter.com/gvs9WBl674
— VIJAY KUMAR (@VijayKu30971383) September 19, 2020
Dhoni ❤️
"Thala's debuts his Durai Singam look 🧔" https://t.co/Q5U96ZPogT— Pradeepta Virlley (@PVirlley) September 19, 2020
Also Read: IPL 2020: MS Dhoni becomes 1st captain to win 100 matches as captain