IPL 2022: Dhoni 15 runs away from joining Kohli, Rohit in elusive list; set to become fifth Indian to reach massive feat

Dhoni is set to become the fifth Indian player to reach the feat.

The great Mahendra Singh Dhoni rolled back the years during Chennai Super Kings' opening game of the 2022 Indian Premier League last week when he scored an unbeaten 50 off 38 deliveries against the Kolkata Knight Riders. CSK were in a spot of bother when Dhoni arrived at the crease, having lost half their side for just 61 runs. However, Dhoni, along with new captain Ravindra Jadeja, forged an unbeaten 70-run stand to take CSK to a respectable score of 131/5.

Mumbai: MS Dhoni during the first match of the Indian Premier League 2022 between CSK and KKR at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, (PTI)

CSK may have ended up losing the game, but Dhoni's return to scoring runs was one of the few positives for the side. As CSK prepare for their upcoming match against the Lucknow Super Giants on Thursday, the former captain eyes a massive feat in T20 cricket.

Only five Indian batters in the history of the shortest format have gone past the 7000-run mark and Dhoni can join the elusive list later tonight. The former Indian captain is only 15 runs away from reaching 7000 runs in T20 cricket, joining Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Shikhar Dhawan, and fellow CSK teammate Robin Uthappa – who all have 7000+ runs in the shortest format.

Here's the list of Indian players with the most runs in T20s:

• Virat Kohli - 10,326 runs
• Rohit Sharma - 9,936 runs
• Suresh Raina - 8654 runs
• Shikhar Dhawan - 8,818 runs
• Robin Uthappa - 7,070 runs
• MS Dhoni - 6,985 runs

Kohli is the fifth-highest run-getter in T20s globally, with West Indies' Chris Gayle leading the chart at 14,562 runs in the format. Shoaib Malik, Kieron Pollard, and Aaron Finch are at 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place respectively.

Earlier, the Chennai Super Kings faced a five-wicket loss to Kolkata Knight Riders in their opening game and will be aiming to open their account in IPL 2022 when they meet Lucknow Super Giants at the Brabourne Stadium. Rajasthan Royals remain at the top of the table in the tournament so far.