Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a name in the world of cricket that needs no introduction. Although his fans know a lot about Dhoni, there are some habits that only cricketers who have played with him know about him. Akash Chopra, who has played for Team India, has also narrated a similar story. In 2004, both Akash Chopra and Mahendra Singh Dhoni toured Zimbabwe with India A. There, Akash and Dhoni stayed in the same room in the hotel. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has won three ICC trophies under his captaincy, is a very fun-loving cricketer.
Akash Chopra has made an interesting revelation on Jio Cinema. Dhoni and Akash were roommates when the India A team toured Zimbabwe and Kenya in 2004. About ‘MS Dhoni the roommate’, Akash lovingly told him about some interesting incidents related to the tour. Akash Chopra shares some anecdotes that have never been told before. Like, how the future World Cup-winning captain went out of his way to accommodate him.
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Akash said, ‘As a roommate you need balance. So, I asked him, ‘What time do you want to go to bed?’ He said, ‘Turn off the lights whenever you want.’ So, for the entire journey, he slept at 9:30 PM. I don’t know when he usually goes to bed, but when I was in the room he went to bed at 9:30pm because I wanted to go to bed early.’ Chopra then recalled how even the shy person in Dhoni came out when it came to ordering food.
Akash said, ‘If I asked him about ordering food, he never picked up the phone or ordered. Dhoni had to eat vegetables despite his unwillingness. Actually he was not a vegetarian. They did this because I was a vegetarian. He was very shy… He used to go downstairs and eat pastries to fill his stomach because he only got dal-roti with me.
Akash said that Dhoni is a big-hearted person and never considered his teammates as his competition. Akash recalled, ‘He was in the Nets. Dinesh Karthik Used for bowling. I used to ask him, ‘Why are you doing this?’ He is your rival. He would say, ‘No, he is not my rival. If you want to bat, you can do that. I just want to bowl.”
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Then came a time when Akash Chopra realized that Dhoni was a genius. Talking about the moment he recognized Dhoni’s talent with the bat, Chopra said, ‘Iftikhar Anjum was a Pakistani bowler and bowled at 140 kmph. He (Dhoni) swept it and it got a four as it was inside fine leg. Next ball, Anjum takes it inside third man and drives it behind fine leg. It was the first time I saw a batsman hit a boundary off a fast bowler on a reverse sweep. As third man was in, he reverse-swept the next ball and took four. Then it came out of my mouth – ‘Who is this player?’ Later, I got my answer. No other wicketkeeper played for India for the next 10 years.