MS Dhoni is one of those cricketers, who through his purity and calm energy has inspired many. The legendary cricketer is respected by all his fans and teammates whether he plays for India or Chennai Super Kings. Veteran spinner Imran Tahir is the latest who has hailed Dhoni and recalled how he was nervous during their first meeting.
Tahir played for the first time with Dhoni during the 2017 IPL when Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) added him as a replacement in the squad. The leg-spinner stated that he had seen Dhoni for several years on television but had never met him personally.
The cricketer from South Africa was pleasantly surprised when MS Dhoni himself came to his room and welcomed him in the side. He also shared Dhoni’s love for mangoes which he brings for his teammates from all around the world.
I was nervous when I met MS Dhoni – Imran Tahir
“I had been watching him on TV. But I never met in person. I first met him when I got picked for Pune and I was quite nervous, I didn’t know how to react,” he told Anis Sajan.
“But I was amazed, I was outside my room door and he came to me from his room and said: ‘Imran Bhai, welcome. This is my room and you are more than welcome anytime,” Tahir added.
“This is probably the best thing to hear from a legend like Dhoni. Like I said, it was very kind of him. He is such a down to earth guy. I thought ‘If you are offering me that, I am coming to your room’. That was very kind of him. As I said, that was the first time I met him personally. We used to go to his room, we still go because he gets mangoes coming in from all over the world. We love to eat that. All of us”, the 41-year-old concluded.
Meantime, Imran Tahir was sensational in his debut IPL edition scalping 18 wickets in just 12 matches. In the very next year, CSK made a comeback in the T20 league and bought Tahir in the auction at his base price of Rs 1 crore.
In the 2019 IPL, Tahir won the purple cap as he took 26 wickets in the entire season. He will again be representing the CSK franchise in IPL 2020 which is all set to take place between September 19- November 8 later this year in UAE.
