After the 2025 IPL Auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a statement attributing to former Indian skipper MS Dhoni has gone viral on social media. It is being claimed that Dhoni expressed a desire for KL Rahul to join Chennai Super Kings (CSK), allegedly stating that if Rahul were part of CSK, no team could defeat them.
The statement in Hindi reads: धोनी ने कहा, “मै csk की टीम में kl राहुल को देखना चाहता था पर किसी कारण ये ना हो सका अगर वह चेन्नई में होते तो हमें हराना नामुमकिन होता (English version: Dhoni said: I wanted to see KL Rahul in the CSK team but for some reason it could not happen. Had he been in CSK, it would have been impossible to defeat us.)
The above post can be seen here (archive)
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the claim, and found it to be false.
Searching with relevant keywords on Google, the NM team could not find any credible reports of Dhoni making such a statement. Notably, if Dhoni had made such a remark, it would have been prominently covered by major news outlets.
Even Dhoni’s social media handles — X and Instagram — have not carried any such statement.
Dhoni’s last post on X was dated January 8, 2021, and on Instagram his last post was on July 14, 2024, before the 2025 IPL auction.
KL Rahul was picked by Delhi Capitals for ₹14 crore.
Therefore, the viral statement attributing to MS Dhoni about K L Rahul is fabricated.
