Be it international or domestic cricket there are no trophies that Golden Boy of Indian cricket, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has not won in his decade long career and the Ranchi-born is now targeting yet another triumph, but this time on a different pitch.
Dhoni, who recently led Chennai Super Kings to title win the Champions League T20, is the latest cricketer to join the much-anticipated Indian Super League (ISL) as he has signed up as a co-owner of the Chennaiyin FC, an ISL franchisee.
The Indian skipper has joined the ranks of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli to own a franchisee of a league, which is termed as a next big thing in Indian football.
Dhoni is straight away targeting trophies with his new venture, featuring international and Indian players like Marco Materazzi, Gouramangi Singh, Bojan Djordjic, Pierre Tillman, Balwant Singh and Jeje Lalpekhlua, to name a few.
The Indian skipper, who is an avid football follower and a Manchester United fan, insisted that apart from targeting wins his team will also address grassroots football and is hoping to bring the European football frenzy youth close to domestic football.
“Our vision will be to win trophies, but more than that to develop talent and help the Indian players to learn under established international players,” Dhoni insisted. “Grassroots level football and sports in India is lacking and that is something we shall address.”
“Football used to be a popular sport once upon a time and is supported in pockets still,” he added. “But the younger generation who watch the EPL, La Liga, Champions League, they will be made aware of something more domestic.”
The Indian captain also expressed his views on the cash-rich league, which is considered to help the Indian players owing to the participation of high-profile foreigners.
“So I want all of you to pick up the football and come out and support us and be ready for an interesting couple of months ahead,” Dhoni concluded. “I am really looking forward to our players performing on the same stage with some great foreign players.”
