Former India wicketkeeper MS Dhoni has left a massive impact on the game with his leadership. He is the only skipper in the history of cricket to have won all three ICC white-ball trophies – 2007 World T20, 2011 Cricket World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy.
Under Dhoni’s captaincy, the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin among others released their potential at the highest level and went on to establish themselves as the superstars of Indian cricket.
Recently, veteran Vidarbha batter Faiz Fazal, who announced his retirement from professional cricket, narrated an exemplary anecdote about Dhoni's humility as a leader.
Fazal played his only ODI for India under Dhoni’s captaincy on the tour of Zimbabwe in 2016. The southpaw recalled an incident from the tour when the former India skipper didn't shy away from sitting on the floor despite the young players offering him their seat in the airport lounge.
"MS Dhoni is so humble, down to earth and he doesn’t make you feel that he is MS DHONI. I will share an experience with you. We were returning from Harare and sitting in the lounge. MS came in and all of us offered him our seat. He just said “nahi nahi tum log betho” and he sat on the floor. He is a legend and he makes you very comfortable," Fazal told News18 CricketNext.
The 38-year-old also admitted that receiving the debut India cap from Dhoni was the cherry on the cake for him.
"Actually feeling to describe hi nahi kar sakta hu. I was very emotional and teary-eyed when I got the cap. The cherry on the cake was that I got the cap from MS Dhoni. Moreover, we won that match and I struck an unbeaten 55. I was happy that I made some contribution for the team. I think everything is written in your destiny. In a population of 1.5 billion people, if you get a chance to represent the country, that’s just amazing. I’m really fortunate and blessed," he added.
Faiz Fazal may not have had many opportunities to play for India, but he was a prolific run-scorer in domestic cricket. The left-hander amassed 9184 runs in 138 First-Cass games, 3641 runs in 113 List A matches and 1273 runs in 66 T20s.
