MS Dhoni more popular than Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli in India: Sunil Gavaskar

Chennai and former India captain MS Dhoni made his much-awaited return to cricket as he led the Chennai side in the opening contest of the Dream11 IPL 2020 against the defending champions Mumbai on Saturday. MS Dhoni, who announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15, 2020, enjoyed a glorious career by earning several prestigious accolades as the captain of the Indian side. Despite the presence of stalwarts such as Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli in the nation, MS Dhoni has surpassed them in terms of popularity, according to Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar.

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Sunil Gavaskar, who is in the UAE as a part of the commentator's team for the Dream11 IPL, spoke about MS Dhoni ahead of the Mumbai-Chennai clash. Speaking about MS Dhoni's popularity, Gavaskar mentioned how Sachin Tendulkar had Mumbai and Kolkata while Virat Kohli has Bengaluru and Delhi as their massive hubs of support in India. Whereas Dhoni, who hails from Ranchi a place that was not known for its cricket culture, has earned a massive following across the nation. 

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MS Dhoni will lead the Chennai side in the Chennai side in the Dream11 IPL 2020. The franchise is one of the most successful ones in the cash-rich league with three championships to their name. The team made a terrific start to their campaign as they beat Mumbai by 5 wickets, which marked MS Dhoni's 100th win as captain of Chennai. 

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MS Dhoni net worth 

According to caknowledge.com, the MS Dhoni net worth figure is estimated to be ₹760 crore as of September 2020. This MS Dhoni net worth figure comprises of his earnings from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as an active Indian cricket player. The figure also includes MS Dhoni's Deam11 IPL 2020 salary for of ₹15 crore for Chennai, which makes the wicket-keeper one of the highest-paid players in  Deam11 IPL 2020.

The Ranchi-based cricketer also has several high-profile endorsements to his name along with his business ventures. MS Dhoni is a co-owner of Chennaiyin FC, a football club in the Indian Super League and a Ranchi Rays, a Hockey India League team. He has had associations with brands such as Orient Electric, Snickers, Indigo Paints, Khatabook, Dream11, Pepsi, Amity University  and many more.

MS Dhoni also is an investor for the Fintech start-up Khatabook. Arun Pandey of Rhiti Sports had earlier mentioned that the cricketer is planning to allot more number of days for endorsements post his retirement. Rhiti Sports manages several businesses of the cricketer.

Disclaimer: The above MS Dhoni net worth information is sourced from various websites and media reports. The website does not guarantee a 100% accuracy of the figures.

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Image Source: IPL Twitter