Suresh Raina and Matthew Hayden became the first-ever inductees in the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Hall of Fame on Sunday at the ROAR 2026 event at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Both Raina and Hayden were among the invited former CSK players who were present at the ROAR 2026 event.
Raina was part of the CSK franchise from the inception in 2008 till 2021. He was a part of four IPL winning CSK squads — 2010, 2011, 2018 and 2021. Fondly known as ‘Chinna Thala’ among fans, he was also a member of CSK’s Champions League T20-winning squads in 2010 and 2014, earning the Player of the Tournament award in the latter edition for scoring 234 runs.
He is also the highest run getter for the CSK with 5529 runs, including two centuries and 38 half centuries. Hayden was part of the CSK squad from 2008 to 2010. The 54-year-old Australian was a part of the 2010 IPL winning CSK squad and is the first CSK player to win the Orange Cap award — winning it in the 2009 edition for amassing 572 runs.
Hayden scored 1117 runs for the CSK, including eight half centuries. Several former CSK players, including Muttiah Muralitharan, Ambati Rayudu, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Subramanium Badrinath and Michael Hussey, were also present at the “ROAR 26” event.
Meanwhile, all the former cricketers took part in match-ups with the current CSK squad members. The likes of Raina and Hayden also played a few shots that flew over the boundary line, much to the excitement of jampacked MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Taking to X, Badrinath posted a picture of some star players that have featured for the franchise in the past, posing with the five trophies that the Chennai-based franchise has so far won in the IPL. “O(ldie)G squad,” Badrinath wrote in the caption of the X post.
CSK’s IPL 2026 full schedule in first phase
The five-time champions will start their 2026 IPL season against the Rajasthan Royals at Guwahati on March 30. After the Rajasthan match, CSK will face off against Punjab Kings on April 3. CSK will then clash against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 5 before facing off against Delhi Capitals on April 11.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 30 | Rajasthan Royals | Guwahati | 7:30 PM |
| April 3 | Punjab Kings | Chennai | 7:30 PM |
| April 5 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Bengaluru | 7:30 PM |
| April 11 | Delhi Capitals | Chennai | 7:30 PM |
Meanwhile, the 44-year-old MS Dhoni was the cynosure of all eyes during the whole event. In fact, Dhoni is one of only four active players to have featured in every edition of the IPL, alongside Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Manish Pandey. Over the course of his IPL career, Dhoni has scored 5,439 runs in 278 matches, averaging 38 with a strike rate of 137, placing him sixth on the all-time list of highest run-scorers in the league’s history.
