‘48000 Dhoni Shirts’: LSG Head Coach Justin Langer Opens Up On ‘Hero Worship’ Culture In Indian Cricket
New Delhi: Lucknow Super Giants coach Justin Langer was astonished by the craze for MS Dhoni in India during his first stint as a coach of an Indian Premier League franchise. In his first season in the cash rich-league, Langer, who replaced Andy Flower, had a mixed season with ups and downs as LSG eventually finished seventh in the 10-team event with seven wins and seven losses.
Opening up on his first IPL stint, Langer compared Dhoni’s fandom with that of Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar. “It’s extraordinary. I heard about it first; then we played them (CSK) twice,” Langer was quoted as saying to BBC Sport – Stumped. “They came to Lucknow, and our capacity crowd (in Ekana Stadium) is about 50,000, and honestly, there would have been 48,000 MS Dhoni number seven shirts.
“I couldn’t believe it, and then we went to CSK, and there wasn’t 98%; there was 100%. And it’s unbelievable. The hero worship in India is unbelievable,” added the former Australia head coach. “And look, I felt it when we played in India before as a player, particularly with Sachin Tendulkar.
“Then, when I was coaching with (Australia), Virat Kohli, and MS Dhoni, But when you get over there, it’s unbelievable.” The 53-year-old also opined that the hero worship of certain players in India had its disadvantages and is hurting others too, citing the example of Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya.
“And I saw the flip side of it as well because Rohit Sharma is a huge hero in India as India captain. And what happened with Mumbai Indians this year… Hardik Pandya took over as the captain from Rohit Sharma. The much-loved Rohit Sharma.
“And it was really sad to watch. You know, he got booed every game by the Indian crowds. He’s the vice-captain of the Indian T20I squad. So, I saw both sides of it. I learned this from Jonty Rhodes and Morne Morkel, who’d been to the IPL before. Rather than getting upset by it, go with the flow,” Langer stated.
Pandya, whose became a star in Indian cricket at Mumbai Indians, left the franchise in 2022 and led Gujarat Titans for two years. While Gujarat Titans lifted the trophy in 2022, they reached the finals the next year. However, Pandya returned to Mumbai Indians in 2024, replacing Rohit as the captain.