MS Dhoni was seen stating in an old video that since his family has time for vacations, he wanted to start exploring India first rather than opt for a foreign location. This comes amidst the Maldives controversy.

Recently, multiple ministers of the Maldives government posted racially offensive and vile messages on social media about Indian PM Narendra Modi and Indian citizens. This was because PM Modi recently traveled to Lakshadweep to promote tourism of the archipelago and urge Indians to explore their country more than foreign lands.

The controversy began when three deputy ministers in the Ministry of Youth Affairs in Maldives---Maryam Shiuna, Malsha Shareef, and Mahzoom Majid---made negative comments about India and the Prime Minister following his recent visit to Lakshadweep.

The Maldives, despite being a crucial partner for India within the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), was asked by newly sworn in president Mohamed Muizzu to withdraw its military presence from the Maldives.

This soured relations between the two countries and the recent jibes by their ministers have drawn in sharp response from India as well.

Several esteemed former cricketers, including the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Venkatesh Prasad, and Suresh Raina have voiced criticism against the 'racist' remarks made by public figures in the Maldives against India. They have urged fellow citizens to discover the splendor of Indian beaches.

1 Sachin Tendulkar urges citizens to explore Indian beaches and islands amidst Maldives controversy

And now, a old video of former India captain MS Dhoni has resurfaced on social media  in which he said that his family wants to explore India first during their vacations.

"Mostly, I do travel a lot but not for vacations. Frankly, if you ask me, I have not been on a lot of vacations. During my cricket playing time, mostly I would go to nations where cricket was there. I haven't seen a lot because I was like I have come here to play cricket, I will play cricket and come back. So, not a lot of fun that way.

My wife loves to travel. So, now our plan is… we are getting some time off, we want to travel. But we want to start from India. We have so many beautiful places over here. I would like to explore them first before heading to different places,” Dhoni can be heard saying.