MS Dhoni believes Ziva, his daughter has changed him as a person

Ziva was present during Indian Premier League 11 matches to cheer for her dad.

MS Dhoni with Ziva and Sakshi | IANS

Three years back MS Dhoni became a father when he was preparing for the World Cup 2015. He got the news through his friend and teammate Suresh Raina. From that day onwards, Dhoni thinks he has changed a lot after stepping into fatherhood.

Recently, in a show for Star Sports, Dhoni said Ziva has changed the person that he is. "I don't know whether it has changed me as a cricketer, as a person yes of course because daughters are very close to their fathers," Dhoni said.

"In my case, the problem is when she (Ziva) was born I was not there (three years ago), most of the time I was playing cricket, so everything bad somehow is thrown at me (to deal with)," he added.

Just a mention of his name keeps Ziva on backfoot, the 36-year-old said. "Khana nahi kha rahi hai, papa aa jayenge khana khao (when she is not eating foot, she is told dad will come have food), if she is doing something wrong, papa aa jayenge mat karo. So, in a way, she looks at me and she is slightly on the back-foot," Dhoni said.

Ziva had been to the stadiums many times during recently concluded Indian Premier League. There was a video emerged on social media where the 3-year-old was seen asking for a hug from his dad, who was busy batting against Kings XI Punjab. The video was shared by Sakshi.

"I had a wonderful time with her (Ziva), she was there for the whole of IPL and one of her biggest requests used to be I have to go to the ground, that is lawn for her. And also there are a lot of kids in the team.

"I would get up by 1:30, 2:30 or 3 in the afternoon. Ziva is up by the time, she gets up by 8.30 or 9, have her breakfast, engage with everyone, start playing... I feel it just relaxes us a bit more when the kids are playing with each other," he said.

"I don't know how much she follows cricket, how much she understands, but I have to bring her one day for the post-match presentation and she (can) just start answering all the questions," he added.

Dhoni revealed his fitness plan during the 50-day long tournament. The veteran had to quit the gym.

"Once the tournament (IPL) started I was not in the gym anymore. I just did my rowing, (and) in Chennai I had a rowing machine in my room only, I would get up, order my breakfast and before the breakfast came, I would start my rowing," he noted.

 
 

By Sihyeu Singh - 13 Jun, 2018

    Share Via