(Image source: X.com)
[Saba Sports News] Legendary India captain MS Dhoni has retired from international cricket. Dhoni now plays professional cricket only for two months in the Indian Premier League (IPL), but fitness is still something he would never compromise on.
Former Afghanistan skipper Asghar Afghan narrated a story, sharing Dhoni’s fondness towards fit players, revealing that the Indian had promised his Afghan counterpart Mohammad Shahzad an IPL deal, but on one condition.
Shahzad, who is one of the biggest fanboys of Dhoni, had modeled his batting around the legend, developing a knack of playing attacking shots. However, the striking difference between the duo has to be their fitness as Shahzad maintained a bulky build all throughout his career.
Shahzad’s former teammate Asghar revealed that Dhoni had vowed to offer an IPL contract to the Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter if he shed 20 kgs but instead he ended up putting on more weight.
“After the tied match (IND vs AFG at 2018 Asia Cup), I had a long chat with MS Dhoni. He is a superb captain and a god’s gift to Indian cricket. He is a nice human being. We spoke about Mohammad Shahzad a lot. I told Dhoni bhai that Shahzad is your big fan. Dhoni said Shahzad has got a big tummy and if he loses 20 kg, I will pick him in the IPL. But when Shahzad returned to Afghanistan after the series, he gained 5 more kg,” Asghar said as quoted to The Times of India.
As Shahzad failed to fulfill Dhoni’s demand, he never got to play in the IPL for Chennai Super Kings and slowly lost his place in the national team as well.