MS Dhoni likes 'fixed' 2019 World Cup tweet, raises online furore

Courtesy: PTI

New Delhi: What Mahendra Singh Dhoni 'likes' is indeed a matter of national importance considering huge fan following in a cricket-obsessed country. But he is one of those celebrities who prefer to keep things unto themselves.

When he reveals something, it becomes a topic of national interest. That's precisely what had happened earlier this week. On Tuesday (December 12), he liked a post on Twitter, and it left everyone confused. For it was only the third time that the former India captain has 'liked' a post. And it's out to be something big, important.

The 36-year-old liked a tweet from the official handle of a leading Hindi news channel. And the tweet claimed that the 2019 ICC World Cup is 'fixed', claiming Virat Kohli's team will win the tournament.

The post tagged with the official handles of Kohli, Dhoni, Ravi Shastri, the BCCI, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Mohammad Azharuddin, Anurag Thakur, Rajiv Shukla, Sharad Pawar, Gautam Gambhir and Ajay Jadeja.

CONFIRMED: 2019 का आईसीसी क्रिकेट वर्ल्ड कप #ViratKohli की टीम इंडिया जीत रही है Match Fixed @imVkohli @msdhoni @RaviShastriOfc @BCCI @SGanguly99 @sachin_rt @therealkapildev @azharflicks @ianuragthakur @ShuklaRajiv @PawarSpeaks @GautamGambhir @imjadeja https://t.co/QpyiTCTIQt

— InKhabar (@Inkhabar) December 12, 2017

Also watch: When a man invaded the pitch to touch MS Dhoni's feet

Yes, it raised a furore on social media fans sharing what they think about the possibility of India winning the World Cup for the third-time and match-fixing.

But as it turned out, it's nothing to do with match-fixing, but something about Indian captains who won the World Cup after getting married vis-a-vis Kohli's recent wedding to Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma.

As we all know, Kapil Dev and Dhoni are the only Indian captains to have lifted the coveted trophy. And interestingly, both managed to do so after two or three years after getting married.

Kapil married Romi Bhatia in 1980, and he gave India their first ever World Cup title in 1983. Dhoni married Sakshi Singh Rawat in 2010, and he led India to their second World Cup title in 2011.

Also watch: Dhoni hits monster sixes during his Dharamshala masterclass

Despite having millions of followers on social media and living under a constant spotlight, the former India captain has tweeted 445 times and only three likes, since joining the popular social media site in 2009.

Here are some reactions:

Dhoni liked this tweet — PavanRakesh (@PavanRakesh1234) December 13, 2017

want to see ms and vk should lift the 2019 indian world cup — dabbiru hemanth (@DabbiruH) December 15, 2017

@msdhoni you liked the Tweet. Did you miss the words “MATCH FIXED”? #ViratKohli — Khanjan Chhaya (@KhanjanChhaya) December 13, 2017

India will surely win 2019 World Cup, but the matches are not fixed. If fixing exists, Pakistan wins everything.

Mr. Dhoni's twitter account might be hacked. — Ravitheja (@Ravisaitheja) December 14, 2017

@BCCI So who can be made India' Captain for WC 2023? Ur top most priority or demand from that candidate shd b that he shd b single & shd get married 1 year or few months b4 WC 2023.So @hardikpandya7 @Jaspritbumrah93 & other single cricketers willing 2 b Captains make sure of it — Sapna (@sapna_001) December 13, 2017

India would definitely win..,they don't need to fix match for that ..,at the moment they can beat any team .,as far as dhoni liking this tweet is concerned ,he might have liked it for d positive aspect of d tweet ie.,India winning d WC and not for d match fixing aspect., — sundeep bhatnagar (@sundeepdgreat) December 14, 2017

When someone mentions you in tweet you get notifications and in notifications only we can like, so going through notification you never know by mistake while scrolling it might have happened.
Or the second case is, he might have found it funny. — Piyush (@sarcasticwa) December 13, 2017

Kohli married Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma on December 11 in a low-key on December 11 in Tuscany, Italy.

Dhoni, who stepped down as the captain of Indian limited-overs' sides in January this year, remains an integral part of Kohli's team in the white ball formats.

In the first of the three ODI matches against Sri Lanka, Dhoni stood amidst the Dharamshala ruins to help India avoid the ignominy of registering their lowest score with a classic half-century.