On the Bells Road and Wallajah Road that run adjacent to the MA Chidambaram Stadium, some unfamiliar scenes are unfolding at the conclusion of every Chennai Super Kings fixture here this season. Every time YouTubers and vloggers thrust their microphones in front of fans, it has invariably led to meltdowns that have gone viral by the next morning.
With the franchise in the middle of their worst-run ever, not even MS Dhoni – Thala himself – has been spared. It has been that sort of a season for Chennai and its loyal fan base. While the common mood over the last few seasons has been to have the ‘Thala dharshan’, this season, even some of the diehards have started to question whether he has carried on longer than he should have. The kind of emotional investment Chennai and Tamil Nadu have in their franchise is unparalleled. Why this cricketing kolaveri over CSK?
We turn to Perumal Murugan, an award-winning writer, poet and scholar, who is critically acclaimed for his insights into Tamil culture, to understand why CSK moves Tamilians so much.
“For whatever reasons, people have been able to identify CSK as something that represents Tamil Nadu even though players keep changing over the years,” Murugan tells The Indian Express. “They see it (CSK) as our identity – it doesn’t matter how many Tamil players are there, who is managing them… for people these things are irrelevant.
“To create that identity, I firmly believe it is the media that has played a big role. There is a concentrated effort to place them as their team and an aura has been created around Dhoni. An entire narration is also being built to make this team as the one that everyone identifies with.”
CSK players led by MS Dhoni walk off the pitch during an IPL 2025 match against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. (PHOTO: Sportzpics for IPL)
Given its success-rate, CSK gives Tamil Nadu an identity it is proud of. “Tamils are always on the lookout for a separate identity. That is what our politics is also based on and this also should be looked at the same way. They saw Dhoni as an ordinary person, just like one of them. They connected instantly. In Tamil culture, sport has always been part of life. Jallikattu (bull-fighting) happens for four months. Kabaddi also has a mass connect. It is part of our festivals. The Tamil community always had space for sports. Since the Sangam era, sport has been integral, so supporting a team is a natural thing,” he says.
Rite of passage
While the Tamil population is no stranger to celebrating movie stars and politicians, not until the arrival of CSK did athletes and a sports team enjoy this kind of ardent following among the masses. If attending the first-day, first-show of a Rajinikanth movie or a Carnatic music show was part of the rituals, in the summer months, getting a ticket into the MA Chidambaram Stadium has also become one.
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Even in households, watching CSK on match-days has become part of a routine. “As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, the number of middle-class families has increased. And so have upper middle-class families. They need entertainment and CSK provides it without affecting their actual work life. The middle-class has a lot of time – weekends and their evenings are also free. But they don’t have enough means to find entertainment in the evenings. CSK and IPL provide them an entertainment package. For two months, you plan a lot around it. Have discussions, then watch it as a group,” Murugan says.
CSK fans during an IPL 2025 match against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. (PHOTO: Sportzpics for IPL)
The entertainment quotient that Murugan mentions isn’t one to be overlooked. According to Thenmozhi Somasundaram, who retired recently as the head of the department of psychology at Madras University, it is a reflection of Tamil society.
“If you look at the present generation as well as the middle-age group who are the majority in Tamil Nadu, there are not many options for entertainment. So because of that, the collective consciousness is picking up. When people are feeling lonely and bored, they go back to this collective consciousness and be with people who accept their likes and dislikes,” she says.
“If you look at CSK fans, it is not just young people. It also includes many middle-aged and older people. Social media isn’t accepted entertainment. It has always been disregarded in our society. It is not respectable entertainment. Watching IPL is meaningful entertainment.”
Sports is respectable
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Unlike the period between the 1970s and early 2000s, when film stars like MG Ramachandran and Rajinikanth enjoyed superstardom, these days fandom levels have gone down a bit. Unlike in the past, when film icons seamlessly transitioned into politics, that luxury is not there now. Instead, a society that puts education high on the priority list now also seems to put sports and athletes on the same pedestal.
“In Tamil Nadu we have never had a huge name in cricket who clicked with the masses. And suddenly, you have a team that has someone like Dhoni and is winning. There is a pride factor that is always associated with Tamizhs. There was a time when cinema meant everything, but in our households people always disliked it. But it isn’t the same with sports. Right now, sports is at par with academics,” Thenmozhi observes.
While Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) also enjoy a close affinity with its fans, in Karnataka it is often seen as a team of the urban population. CSK, in contrast, has managed to strike a chord all over Tamil Nadu and beyond. Divya Dovania, assistant professor, department of psychology at Women’s Christian College, reckons this is a sign of social contagion.
“When an entire group is celebrating and supporting a team, I also incline towards it. It just spreads around it. That is why there is a lot of excitement when they play, especially at Chepauk. If you are at the ground, you won’t know if they are losing or not. The excitement is always at its peak. These things also happen because I want to conform with people around me and be one of them,” she says.
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Last domestic season, as R Sai Kishore spelt out his wish-list as Tamil Nadu captain, he mentioned the need to establish a similar bond with the fans. Though cricket is the most popular sport in the state, the Tamil Nadu Ranji players don’t enjoy a fandom like their Mumbai and Karnataka counterparts.
“I want to create a similar bonding with the fans like how CSK have managed. We also play and represent Tamil Nadu, but a very few take interest in us. I want a similar following for this team (TN Ranji) – where we are also able to establish a strong emotional bond with fans. It will happen when we play good cricket,” Kishore would say.
That Tamil Nadu, despite being a powerful state unit, has managed just a couple of Ranji titles, may reflect on the fan following they enjoy. CSK, by contrast, won titles in its formative years and remain the joint-most successful franchise in the IPL with five crowns. That they also had four titles (IPL + Champions League T20) before they were suspended in 2015 have also helped their legend grow.
