New Delhi: Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra opened up on the experience of sharing his room with a young MS Dhoni and shared some unheard tales about the former India captain. Chopra was Dhoni’s roommate during his India A days. Chopra recalled how despite being a non-vegetarian, Dhoni went without having non-veg food for a month when he was his roommate.
One of the greatest captains of all time, Dhoni’s legacy in Indian cricket remains unmatched. The legendary wicket-keeper batter led India to multiple trophies under his captaincy and remains the only captain to have won all three major ICC limited-overs trophies – the ODI World Cup (2011), T20 World Cup (2007) and the Champions Trophy (2013).
Dhoni made his international debut for India in 2004 and there was no looking back for the wicket-keeper batter as he went on to become one of the greatest of all time. While Dhoni never played for India with Chopra, he was roommates with the former opener while playing for India A. Chopra, who made his India debut in 2003, had already played for India and was Dhoni’s senior at the time.
Chopra revealed Dhoni was very shy as a youngster and agreed to everything he said when the two were roommates. The former opener recalled how Dhoni, a hardcore non-vegetarian and a butter chicken lover, sacrificed non-veg food as Chopra was vegetarian. Dhoni would not use the room service at all and eat whatever food Chopra ordered, which was veg.
“His phone used to ring a lot, but he never answered it. When I asked him what time he goes to sleep, because we had to figure the time, he said, ‘Whenever you are comfortable, you can switch off the lights.’ Moreover, he was non-vegetarian and I was vegetarian, so it was not a great partnership. So when I asked him what he wanted to eat, he said, ‘Whatever you feel like eating.’ He never used to call for room service. He was just too shy. For one whole month, he ate vegetarian food because I would always order veg,” Chopra said on Raj Shamani’s podcast on his YouTube channel.
In the same podcast, Chopra also pointed out Dhoni was ‘carefree’ but not ‘careless’ during his younger days as he was confident in his abilities. He revealed Dhoni would rarely practice batting in the nets and even used to bowl to Dinesh Karthik, who was also competing with him for the wicket-keeper’s spot in the Indian team.
Aakash Chopra picks MS Dhoni as India’s best-ever captain
During the show, Chopra was also asked to pick India’s greatest captain of all time as per him. The former opener named Dhoni while crediting him for managing transitions in the Indian team from senior players to junior. Chopra highlighted how Dhoni won the 2007 T20 World Cup with a young team before guiding a team consisting of seniors like Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag to glory in the 2011 ODI World Cup.
The popular commentator also hailed Dhoni for his success with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and said he has not met a single former or current CSK player, who has ever bad-mouthed the legendary wicket-keeper batter. Chopra said Dhoni is a captain who players want to play for and will be ready to go through a wall for. A former team India star and MS Dhoni’s ex-roomate shared an unheard story about the former India captain. He revealed Dhoni once went without having non-veg food for a month during his India A days. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
