IPL 2022: Virat Kohli shares heartwarming embrace with MS Dhoni ahead of season opener

The IPL 2022 season gets underway in a couple of hours' time with CSK vs KKR being the opening encounter of the tournament. Ahead of the opening CSK vs KKR IPL 2022 clash, CSK players sweated out in the nets at the DY Patil stadium where even the RCB team had their scheduled practice session. A clip of the session has surfaced online where Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni can be seen meeting each other days after MS Dhoni had announced to step down from the CSK captaincy.

IPL 2022: Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni share warm hug during practice

In the video, Virat Kohli could be seen walking towards MS Dhoni before giving him a long hug. The official Twitter account of the RCB also posted pictures from the meeting between Dhoni and Kohli, with a caption, “Just a couple of LEGENDS catching up at practice.”

Following MS Dhoni's decision to step down as CSK skipper, Virat Kohli took to his official social media profile to pay his respect to the former skipper. He wrote “Legendary captaincy tenure in yellow skip. A chapter fans will never forget. Respect always,” Virat Kohli, had also stepped down from Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) captaincy after conclusion of IPL 2021.

Faf du Plessis reunite with CSK teammates 

Besides Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni sharing a moment, new RCB skipper Faf du Plessis also got a chance to reunite with his former teammates. The South African who was released by CSK in the IPL 2022 Auction pool was signed by RCB for INR 7 crore. The image of Faf du Plessis sharing time with CSK teammate and even sharing hug with MS Dhoni was posted on social media handle by CSK. 

CSK vs KKR preview

The opening match at Wankhede stadium will see two new captains with Chennai Super Kings being led by Ravindra Jadeja, while Kolkata Knight Riders being led by Shreyas Iyer. The match is expected to be a great contest between bat and ball as the pitch in Mumbai have usually aided the pacers more than spinners. With the 22-yard strip being made out of red soil the team batting second is likely to have an advantage. Besides the pitch, the dew factor will also be taken into consideration by the skipperds of both teams. CSK will be missing one of its key pacers, Deepak Chahar for the first few games this season. KKR will also miss the services of its key pacer Pat Cummins as the Australian bowler is currently in Pakistan for a bilateral series.