India left-arm fast bowler Khaleel Ahmed opened up about his relationship with legendary India keeper-batter MS Dhoni. Khaleel has played alongside MS Dhoni in the Indian team having made his debut in the 2018 Asia Cup.
Khaleel Ahmed told Aakash Chopra about a memorable moment when Dhoni, captaining the team in Rohit Sharma's absence, entrusted him with bowling the first over against Afghanistan. He went on to explain how this gesture fulfilled a childhood desire he had after witnessing his idol, Zaheer Khan, open the bowling for India.
"Mahi bhai is not my friend, not my elder brother, he is my guru. Since my childhood, I wanted to become the bowler who took the first over from India since I had watched Zaheer Khan growing up.
In the Asia Cup, Mahi bhai asked me to bowl the first over. I ran so hard, away from the huddle thinking that if I give it time he might change his mind," Khaleel told Chopra on his YouTube channel.
Khaleel shared the story behind a viral photo of him receiving flowers from Dhoni. The incident took place during India's tour of New Zealand, where Dhoni gifted him flowers he had received from fans.
"We were in New Zealand, Mahi bhai's fans had given him flowers, he passed it onto me and some fans took a photo, it was quite memorable for me," the pacer added.
Here is the photo:
