NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, OCT 27
Few weeks ago, Gopikrishnan, a die-hard an of Captain Cool Mahendra Singh Dhoni had gone viral after he painted his house in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu the Chennai Super Kings yellow and also painted portraits of Dhoni all over the house. Now, the cricketer has responded to the gesture.
In a video that was posted by the official handle of CSK on Twitter, Dhoni can be seen getting emotional as he says, “I saw it on Instagram and I think it’s a great gesture. At the same time if you see, it’s not only about me, they are the biggest fans of CSK.”
Thala Dhoni's sweet reaction to the sweetest tribute! 🦁💛
A big #WhistlePodu for Super Fan Gobikrishnan and his family for all the #yellove, literally. #HomeOfDhoniFan @GulfOilIndia @thenewsminute pic.twitter.com/1wxWVnP00l
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) October 26, 2020
He added that this is not an easy decision to take because the whole family needs to agree on it. “It is not a social media post that will disappear overnight. It will stay,” he further added. He concluded by saying that he is grateful and that he would like to thank the entire family for the gesture.
Gopikrishnan is a Dhoni loyalist and has been cheering for the cricketer in all the seasons of IPL while living and working in Dubai. As luck would have it, Gopikrishna is back in Cuddalore owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
He said in an interview that he was upset he could not see Dhoni play live this year and was disappointed with the way people have criticised his favourite cricketer. He added that he wanted to motivate Dhoni and show his support for Thala.
The house is painted in the CSK yellow and also has portraits of Dhoni on the walls. Gopikrishna calls the house “Home of Dhoni fan” and it has the words “Whistle Podu”, which is CSK’s tag line, painted on the wall. He spent Rs 1.5 lakh on the special paint job.
CSK and Dhoni, in particular, have been facing a hard time during the IPL. Dhoni, who has now retired from international cricket, has been repeatedly criticised owing to his poor performance this season.
Chennai Super Kings won their game against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first match of Super Sunday, but Rajasthan Royals’ successful chase against Mumbai Indians later in the day ensured that CSK’s mathematical chance of making it to the playoff was taken away, making this the first season in which Chennai won’t be the in the playoffs.