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Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the latest cricket star to own a football team in the Indian Super League (ISL). He is now co-promoter of Chennaiyin FC, along with Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan and industrialist Vita Dani.
Dhoni joins Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli as football team owners in the ISL. The ISL begins on October 12. “I was first a goal keeper for a football team before shifting to cricket. This is an opportunity for me to get associated with football,” Dhoni told newspersons.
On his choice of team, he said that for seven years he has been associated with the local IPL cricket team Chennai Super Kings. It may not be possible to be associated with cricket here and with a football team elsewhere. “People here support sports a lot,” he said.
He said that winning championship alone was not the motive. The ISL is an opportunity to develop young talent who can play with international players, he added.
However, cricket will continue to be his first preference. “Whatever experience I gain in cricket, I will share it with players in the football team,” said Dhoni.
Dhoni said the Chennai team is well-balanced, with its biggest strength being the defenders. Chennaiyin FC has 16 domestic players and 12 foreigners. This includes player-manager Marco Materazzi, marquee foreigner Elano and former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre.
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