“He’s very interested in helping Jharkhand cricket grow”- Shahbaz Nadeem reveals MS Dhoni's role in team's SMAT success

Jharkhand defeated Haryana in the SMAT 2025 final thanks to Ishan Kishan's ton in Pune.

Shahbaz Nadeem, ex-India player and current Jharkhand State Cricket Association’s (JSCA) joint secretary, has stated that legendary MS Dhoni is heavily consulted when it comes to the benefit of Jharkhand cricket.

Jharkhand cricket came to the fore when Ishan Kishan-led side won the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy by defeating Haryana in the final of the SMAT 2025.

Before the commencement of the season, former players Shahbaz Nadeem and Saurabh Tiwary were appointed as joint secretary and secretary of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA).

The JSCA appointed Ratan Kumar, who had been actively involved in various coaching capacities across Jharkhand's age-group cricket for the previous eight years, as head coach, with Sunny Gupta named bowling coach.

Both choices were made on the advice of legendary former India captain MS Dhoni, who is widely regarded as the most famous Jharkhand cricketer.

“When we started the season, right from the appointment of the coaching staff, we have always taken his [Dhoni’s] advice and suggestions. And he also has a keen interest in the Jharkhand team. He wants them to do well. It feels good that such a big player is paying close attention to our team,” Nadeem is quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

Nadeem further stated that MS Dhoni keenly followed Jharkhand cricket’s progress in the recent SMAT tournament and revealed that Dhoni knew all the numbers and stats of the domestic players of the team.

“And I’ll tell you something, he follows every game very closely. He followed the entire [SMAT] tournament, noted all the strengths and weaknesses of the players, and discussed with us. He knows the stats and numbers of each domestic player from Jharkhand. He is very interested in helping Jharkhand cricket grow,” he added.

Jharkhand won ten of their eleven matches in the tournament. They won a group that included three prior champions from Delhi, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, the latter of whom they defeated with an almost unbelievable comeback triumph.  

Kishan scored 517 runs in 10 innings with a strike rate of 197.32, finishing as the tournament's leading run scorer. His performance earned him a recall to the Indian team for the 2026 T20 World Cup.