The Indian Premier League has always unearthed many talents and has propelled many players to riches from their rags status. However, the IPL is not short of creating celebrities from the crowd either.
The latest sensation in the IPL 2025 is Aaryapriya Bhuyan. When this 19-year-old from Guwahati, seemingly a Chennai Super Kings fan, bought tickets to watch her favourite cricketer play in her city for the first time in his IPL career, little did she know her life was about to change.
With CSK chasing Rajasthan Royals’s total and the match entering the final 6 balls, MS Dhoni swung his bat for a big hit towards the cow corner region. He connected fast bowler Sandeep Sharma’s low full toss and the ball was headed for a maximum.
However, Shimron Hetmyer had other plans as he dived to take a good low catch and send Dhoni back to the dressing room and the crowd into pindrop silence. Mind you, the Guwahati faithful were supposed to be the home crowd for RR but such is the fandom Dhoni enjoys that everywhere CSK plays feels like a home game for them.
Bhuyan was one of those fans stunned into silence. She reacted by pointing her hand at Hetmyer and angrily clenching her fist. Her emotional reaction quickly went viral and it catapulted her to nation-wide popularity.
So much so that after internet sleuths found her personal Instagram account and spread the word, her follower count shot up from a mere 800 to nearly 400,000. Her virality also helped Bhuyan bag endorsement deals as companies looked to cash in on her new-found popularity.
‘Dhoni made your career’
She first did a brand collaboration with beauty brand Yes Madam on Instagram with a video that was captioned, “from oops to happy moment. thanks YesMadam!”
She then bagged another deal, this time with online food delivery giant Swiggy. Both videos have garnered a combined like count of 400,000 and this has set social media on fire.
One user commented, “Now she became an influencer at the age of just 19” while another quipped, “Dhoni made her career even after getting out.” Another user aptly commented, under the Swiggy collaboration video, “That cricket match ticket was a lottery ticket for you.”
CSK will be in action later today, in the second game of the double header, against the Punjab Kings at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium.
Stay updated on all the action from the IPL 2025. Check the IPL 2025 Schedule, track the latest IPL 2025 Points Table, and follow the top performers with the Orange Cap and Purple Cap.
