Indicating that this might be last time MS Dhoni would play an international match in front of his home crowd at Ranchi, the former India captain invited the entire team for dinner at his farmhouse, located at Ring Road, 10 km away from the city on the eve of the third ODI between India and Australia. The fellow cricketers reached Dhoni's farmhouse for dinner to make it a memorable moment.
In a very heart-warming gesture for MS Dhoni, Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) officials had named the south stand after the former India captain. A placard named ‘MS Dhoni Pavilion’ had been installed at the JSCA stadium- a pure delight to watch, especially for Dhoni fans.
However, modest man Mahendra Singh Dhoni has politely declined to inaugurate the pavilion named after him in Ranchi, ahead of India's third ODI against Australia. Legendary former Indian cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag too have pavilions named after them in Mumbai and Delhi respectively.
"We requested him but he said 'Dada apne hi ghar mein kya inaugurate karna.' (What's there to inaugurate in my own house). He is still so humble and down to earth, Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) secretary Debashis Chakraborty told PTI on Wednesday.
Recently, Dhoni became the only fourth Indian batsman to complete 13,000 runs in List A cricket. The veteran wicketkeeper-batsman has joined an elite club, comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. Dhoni's unbeaten 141-run partnership with Kedar Jadhav in the first ODI in Hyderabad is the second highest fifth-wicket stand by India against Australia at home.
India skipper Virat Kohli had lauded Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who produced a clinical batting performance to help India attain a 1-0 lead. However, during the second ODI on Tuesday, the World cup winning captain registered a golden duck for the first time in his ODI career after almost nine years.
It was Virat Kohli's promising 116-run knock that guided India to revive their innings and post a competitive 250 after a middle-order collapse.
Hailing former captain MS Dhoni for his cricketing brain, many cricket experts and former players have stated that Dhoni’s presence in the side could be a decisive factor in India’s quest to win the upcoming ODI World Cup in England.
Dhoni has been under constant criticism for his indifferent form in limited overs cricket but his wicket-keeping skills and invaluable reading of the game makes him indispensable in the Indian side.