Naman Dhir’s journey is a powerful testament to resilience and the rewards of unrelenting hard work.
Naman Dhir expressed his disbelief and joy after receiving his maiden senior national team call-up for India's ODI squad against the West Indies.
In a video shared by the BCCI on social media, the Punjab all-rounder opened up on his initial reaction to selection, stating that he dismissed congratulatory Instagram notifications as casual spam or unrelated messages before opening the official post.
Naman, 26, admittedly froze in disbelief for 10 minutes upon seeing his name listed in the squad announcement.
“Our Sher-e-Punjab tournament in Punjab was over, so I was there. Actually, I had no idea that there would be a call-up or anything like that. So I got a message on Instagram congratulating me. I ignored it; I thought it might be something else.
“But I opened that post, and after that, when I saw my name, I couldn't process it for 10 minutes. I mean, I've been selected here. But yes, it was a surreal feeling. First of all, I called my father; he was very happy. He had a lot of emotions coming out,” Dhir said.
Naman Dhir’s journey is a powerful testament to resilience and the rewards of unrelenting hard work. After representing Punjab at the U-16 level, he spent nearly 7 years off the selectors' radar. At one point in early 2022, facing immense financial constraints, he even considered moving to Canada before his father convinced him to give cricket one final year.
A prolific breakthrough run in the state's U-25 tournament earned him his long-awaited Ranji Trophy debut for Punjab in December 2022.
It was followed by the IPL boom as Dhir was picked up by Mumbai Indians for a modest base price of Rs 20 lakh in the 2024 auction, but his explosive intent earned him a massive retention payout of Rs 5.25 crore for the 2025 season.
“Every kid who starts playing cricket has a dream to represent India, and to play a match for India. So, I guess for me, it's still a dream come true. I feel like I'm living my dream. The old Naman was quitting at one point, but the new Naman will say that you should keep working hard with a pure heart.
“If you're honest with your work and your hard work, you'll get a 100 percent result. I represented Punjab in the U-16s. After that, I didn't play anything for 6-7 years, till U-25s. After that, I got a breakthrough and scored runs in the U-25s, and then I was called up for the Ranji Trophy.
“Then IPL came, and that's when my journey started. So, those 6-7 years were tough, but as I said, if you're honest with your work and your hard work, you'll get a 100 percent result,” he added.
Naman Dhir completely dominated the 2026 Sher-E-Punjab T20 League, hammering 655 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 217.61, which directly paved the way for India selection.
Dhir expressed deep reverence for the opportunity to share a dressing room with players he grew up watching, including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
“All the legends in the dressing room, Virat bhai, Rohit bhai, even Shubman and everyone- I grew up watching them. I started playing cricket after watching them. The memories of the 2011 World Cup, everyone's, the Champions Trophy 2013. So sharing the dressing room with them was a big deal for me,” he said.
With the national selectors assigning him a dynamic middle-order role, Dhir is focused on soaking in the moment.
“Getting the India cap, I don't know how I'll feel then. But right now, what I'm thinking is that I want to enjoy this moment to the fullest because I've waited my whole life for this moment. As far as I'm concerned, I'll give more than 100 percent, but I want to enjoy it even more,” he concluded.