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Updated August 15th, 2021 at 11:47 IST

MS Dhoni's fan walks 1,400 km from Haryana to Ranchi to meet idol, returns empty-handed

MS Dhoni's die-hard fan walked 1,400km to meet the World Cup-winning skipper at his Ranchi residence. Although, he had to return disappointed. Here's why

Reported by: Karthik Nair
MS Dhoni,  a Delhi-bound flight in the evening
Image: PTI | Image:self
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MS Dhoni has arguably been the best captain in the history of both Indian and world cricket. He is the only captain to win all the ICC events - World T20 2007, ICC Test mace in 2009, 2011 World Cup, and 2013 Champions Trophy. He has also led the 'Men In Blue' to two Asia Cup triumphs in 2010 and 2016, respectively. Dhoni has also led the Chennai Super Kings to three IPL victories in 2010, 2011 and 2018 as well as two CLT20 wins (now-defunct) in 2010 and 2014, respectively.

Dhoni has enjoyed a massive fan following ever since he made his presence felt and continues to do so even today. But there is one particular die-hard fan of MS Dhoni who did the unthinkable to meet his icon only to return disappointed.

A fan walks 1,400km to meet Dhoni

It has been learned that an ardent fan of Mahendra Singh Dhoni named Ajay Gill was waiting outside the gate of the 2011 World Cup-winning skipper's farmhouse at Simalia on the outskirts of Ranchi on Friday morning. Meanwhile, it was also revealed that this 18-year-old fan had covered 1,400km by foot from his village Jalan Kheda in Hisar district of Haryana to meet Dhoni.

According to Ajay, he walked for 16 days since July 29 and strongly believed that MSD would spare 10 minutes and meet him without hesitation. Sadly, that did not happen as Dhoni was miles away from his hometown when the fan reached his residence. Mahi was in Chennai, preparing to board a flight to Dubai for the second phase of IPL 2021 as he looks forward to leading CSK. 

Nonetheless, a gutted Ajay Gill was in no mood to go back and said that he had no hesitation in staying back till he met Dhoni despite being informed that the latter will not be back for about three months. He finally went back after being convinced by a young businessman. As per reports, Ajay was given a ticket for a Delhi-bound flight in the evening by the businessman.

MS Dhoni's career

During his 16-year international journey, Dhoni represented the 'Men in Blue' in 90 Tests, 350 ODIs and 98 T20Is. Across all formats, he racked up 17,266 runs. On the wicketkeeping front, he is currently the third most successful wicketkeeper of all time with 829 dismissals. Additionally, as a captain of the Indian cricket team, Dhoni is the only skipper in the world to have led his side to success in all major ICC events.

Mahi, who made his debut in 2004, was entrusted with the captaincy of Team India in 2007 for white-ball formats and was appointed as the full-time captain later in 2008. Widely regarded as the best wicketkeeper-batsman and captain, Dhoni had announced his retirement from Tests in 2014 surprisingly at the end of the 'Boxing Day' Test against Australia at the iconic MCG. 

Dhoni has numerous accolades to his name including the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna; the Padma Shri, which is India's fourth-highest civilian honour; the Padma Bhushan, which is India's third-highest civilian honour; and has also been conferred with the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Army.

MS Dhoni's retirement

On August 15, 2020, putting an end to his 16-year-old journey, the veteran stumper announced his retirement from international cricket. Taking to social media, Dhoni shared a compilation of his journey so far to announce with 'Main Pal Do Pal Ka Shair Hoon' from the 1976 Amitabh Bachchan-Rakhee Gulzar-starrer Kabhi Kabhie playing in the background. 

"Thanks a lot for your love and support throughout. From 1929 hrs consider me as Retired," the Ranchi-lad captioned the video.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by M S Dhoni (@mahi7781)

 

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Published August 15th, 2021 at 11:46 IST

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