CSK Roar 2026: Five Takeaways From Chennai Super Kings' Mega Event At Chepauk

Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings held a mega event at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday, March 22 in Chepauk as the five-time champions held their inaugural ROAR 26' fan event.

The Roar 2026 saw the squad being presented to the fans including skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, new signing Sanju Samson and MS Dhoni in front of a packed stadium.

Moreover, several franchise legends were also present including Suresh Raina, Matthew Hayden, Murali Vijay, Subramaniam Badrinath and Dwayne Bravo, who brought the piece of silverware one by one.

Evening was also made special by live performances by none other than AR Rahman and actor-singer Sivakarthikeyan.

Here are the five takeaways from the Roar 2026 event, that kept everyone glued to ahead of IPL 2026:

1) Sivakarthikeyan's Plea To 'Thala' MS Dhoni

During the Roar 2026 event, actor-singer Sivakarthikeyan was also present along with the whole of Chennai Super Kings squad.

The Tamil actor however caught everyone's attention when he asked MS Dhoni to continue playing until he turns 60. Instead of asking whether Dhoni would retire after IPL 2026, Sivakarthikeyan urged him to continue playing. “That is very difficult," he said. But Sivakarthikeyan was unmoved as he replied, "With your fitness, it’s easy, I think."

“It’s (fitness) on the way down, not the way up," before quickly adding, “I can try," said Dhoni. The crowd went wild hearing that.

2) Chepauk Is Ready To ROAR!

Seeing the whole squad out there along with their favourite, MS Dhoni, one thing is certain that the fans inside MA Chidambaram are ready to 'Roar'! Chennai Super Kings will be eyeing their sixth title but past few seasons have not been great. However, given the fans on side, CSK will be looking to get back to winning ways and bring back the 'golden' period once more.

3) Suresh Raina, Matthew Hayden's Batting Delights Crowd

The CSK legends took centre stage at the Roar 2026 event as Matthew Hayden and Suresh Raina amongst others were present at the event. The likes of Raina and Hayden participated in an exhibition match against the current CSK squad, celebrating the players' contributions over the years.

4) No Sign Of Ravichandran Ashwin

One big miss was off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, was not present at the Roar 2026. Ashwin represented the Yellow Army before hanging up his boots. He played 8 seasons for CSK, picking up 97 wickets in 106 matches. But despite the likes of Harbhajan Singh and Ambati Rayudu being present, fans online were bemused as to why the franchise did not invite their local boy to the event.

5) AR Rahman-MSD Bonding

The Roar 2026 saw Oscar-winner AR Rahman perform but the highlight of the evening came when MS Dhoni met the music icon that delighted fans online. CSK's social media account posted Rahman catching up with Dhoni as the former India captain being all smiles as he greeted the music icon backstage.

CSK Squad For IPL 2026

Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), MS Dhoni (W), Sanju Samson, Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Shivam Dube, Urvil Patel (W), Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Noor Ahmad, Shreyas Gopal, Gurjapneet Singh, Jamie Overton, Akeal Hosein, Prashant Veer, Kartik Sharma, Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar, Zak Foulkes.