Matthew Hayden and Suresh Raina are receiving the honour. (Credits: CSK)
CSK’s Hall Of Fame: In Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) first-ever Hall of Fame, conducted on Sunday, former cricketers Suresh Raina and Matthew Hayden became the first two cricketers to be inducted for their immense contributions to the franchise. Notably, CSK organised a pre-IPL fan event named ‘ROAR 2026’, which took place at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
The five-time champions Chennai Super Kings will be seeking their sixth title after a forgettable season last season.
Raina, who is fondly known as ‘Mr. IPL was a vital in CSK’s batting line-up. On the other hand, Hayden was known to dismantle bowling attacks with explosive intent in the powerplay.
“Before the legacy… There were these two. Our first Hall of Fame inductees: Suresh Raina & Matthew Hayden,” CSK wrote in an X post.
Raina is regarded as one of the greatest players in the league’s history, having accumulated 5,528 runs in 205 matches, including a century and 39 fifties, ranking him as the fifth-highest run-scorer in the league’s history. He is a multiple-time IPL champion with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Hayden, across 32 matches, scored 1107 runs with an impressive average of 36.90 and a strike rate of 137.51, featuring 8 half-centuries.
MS Dhoni Present At Event
Earlier, MS Dhoni honoured T20 World Cup winners Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, and U-19 winning captain Ayush Mhatre at a CSK pre-season fan event (ROAR 2026) in Chepauk on Sunday.
Dhoni presented special mementoes to the winners during the event, which featured CSK veterans and celebrated the recent T20 World Cup success.
The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side finished at the bottom of the points table last season but have formed a strong side in the mini-auction and are hopeful for a record sixth title this year.
CSK Full Squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ayush Mhatre, M.S. Dhoni, Sanju Samson, Dewald Brevis, Urvil Patel, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Akeal Hosein, Prashant Veer, Kartik Sharma, Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar, Zak Foulkes.
Also Read: Bangladesh Signals Possible IPL Ban Lift Amid Call for Better India Relations
with inputs from agency
Vishal Pushkar is a Chief Sub-Editor with NewsX and has been associated with the company since March 2026. He has been working as a journalist since 2021. His experience includes working with Zee Media, Amazon and Dainik Jagran. Vishal holds a BA (English Honours) degree from Shyam Lal College, University of Delhi and a Post-Graduate Diploma from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi. Vishal has completed a beginner’s course in the German language as well.
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