MS Dhoni has inspired many a young wicketkeeper-batsman, and one of his biggest fans is Afghanistan’s rising star Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
The dashing opening batsman, who played for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), was one of many players who lined up to take pictures with the former Indian captain during this year’s edition of the cash-rich league.
However, a recent gesture from Dhoni has gotten many on the internet talking and it seems the admiration between the two hard-hitting wicketkeepers is mutual.
Taking to Instagram, Gurbaz showed off his latest addition to his jersey collection – a Chennai Super Kings jersey with Dhoni’s name and number on the back, as well as an autograph from the man himself.
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“Thanks @mahi7781 sir for sending the gift all the way from India,” he captioned the post on Instagram which has nearly 100000 likes.
This isn’t the first time Dhoni has been signing shirts for people. During the 2020 edition of the IPL, which was held in a bio-bubble in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he had signed jerseys for multiple players and that naturally set tongues wagging about whether or not he would be leaving the sport behind for good.
However, it’s 3 years later and he is still signing shirts – even of Indian cricket legends like Sunil Gavaskar on live television.
And rumours of his retirement won’t go away – even though he himself confirmed that he isn’t going anywhere after CSK clinched the 2023 edition of the IPL.
“This is the best time to announce my retirement. But the amount of love I have received all over; the easy thing would be to walk away from here, but the harder thing would be to work hard for 9 months and try to play another IPL,” he said in the post-match presentation ceremony after the final.
“It would be a gift to fans from me, even if it won’t be easy on my body.”
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Incidentally, Gurbaz isn’t the only wicketkeeper-batsman from Afghanistan who has taken inspiration from Dhoni.
Hazratullah Zazai is another player from the country who modelled his style of play on Dhoni, even adopting the helicopter shot that Dhoni had popularized during the peak of his career.
As for Dhoni, he had surgery on the knee that had bothered him through the season, seemingly readying himself for one last dance in 2024.
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