Dhoni has the biggest fan base in India: Harbhajan Singh

Chennai: Four-time winners Chennai Super Kings (CSK) return to their home at Chepauk for another southern derby clash, this time against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday.

The M S Dhoni-led side will be raring to return to winning ways at home as they lost to Rajasthan Royals in a high-scoring last-over thriller last time. With the crowd set to turn out in yellow in huge numbers, former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has donned the yellow jersey in the past, claimed there can't be a bigger cricketer in the country than Dhoni.

"Mahendra Singh Dhoni is only one. There cannot be a bigger cricketer than him in India. Someone could have scored more runs than him and someone could have taken more wickets than him, but no one has a bigger fan base than him."

"Dhoni has accepted this fandom to heart and he respects his teammates as well. He walks with so much love and emotion that anyone else would go mad, but Dhoni has carried this love and emotion in his heart for 15 years and he still hasn't changed at all," Harbhajan was quoted as saying by Star Sports.

Apart from Dhoni, all eyes will be also on all-rounder Shivam Dube, who set the stage on fire with his towering sixes against Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Harbhajan lauded the left-handed batter for his range of shots and added that Dube should continue getting the chance to bat higher in the order more often.

"Shivam Dube's hitting range is tremendous. Whenever the ball comes into his hitting arc, he dispatches it for a biggie. CSK banks a lot on players with such qualities. Shivam should continue to get opportunities to bat at the top."