Die Hard Dhoni Fan On Mission To Get 183 Autographs From Cricket Idol

A die hard 22-year-old Dhoni fan's "mission" is to get 183 autographs of India's most decorated cricket captain

The figure 183 in Indian cricket flashes across many memories in the minds of die hard Indians fans and each has have their own reasons for remembering the number. For many Blue Brigade loyalists, 183 is the score India defended against the mighty West Indies to win their maiden World Cup in 1983 , for some it is Sourav Ganguly's scintillating knock against Sri Lanka in the 1999 World Cup match played at Taunton. But for a millenial like Pranav Jain of Bengaluru, 183 means Mahendra Singh Dhoni's career-best ODI score and the 22-year-old's "mission" is to get 183 autographs of India's most decorated cricket captain and by the time he landed in Kolkata, he already had 153 in his kitty.

"Mahi bhai has promised me 183 autographs but with a rider. He has told me "Jis din tera 183 complete hoga, tujhe aur koi autograph nahi milega". I am planning to get 10 autographs today and it will be 163," Jain, who is set to join his family business, told PTI while waiting for Dhoni to complete his shoot at a Kolkata resort.

Jain, whose formative years were all about 'Captain Cool', has, in fact, travelled across the globe to collect his icon's autograph on gloves, bats, posters, sketches, whatever he could lay his hands on. It has become an obsession now and Jain expects in another year or so, his "mission" will be accomplished. Dhoni was in the city for a commercial shoot with another World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev. Kapil has been in the city since Monday and was the chief guest at an event in Ballygunge Shiksha Sadan (BSS) girls school.