Even before MS Dhoni plays the IPL 2024, the buzz around his return to the cricket field has started to ascend. Dhoni will be leading Chennai Super Kings (CSK) title defense in the IPL 17 and he has chosen to go all nostalgic this time.
Dhoni has grown his hair long similar to when he made his debut in 2004. This is probably his cricketing swansong and Dhoni is showing gratitude and love to all those who supported his journey to becoming one of the most loved and celebrated cricketers India has seen.
MS Dhoni will be sporting the sticker of his childhood friend Paramjit Singh’s sports shop in Ranchi, ‘Prime Sports’, on his bat during the IPL 2024. Paramjit Singh was the one who helped Dhoni with cricketing gear early on in his career and also got him his first cricket kit sponsorship with BAS.
But Prime Sports is not the only entity that MS Dhoni has shown love and gratitude to.
Somi Kohli, the owner of 'Beat All Sports (BAS)', one of India's biggest sports manufacturing companies, revealed that during the 2019 World Cup, MS Dhoni did not charge a single penny for sporting the BAS logo on his bat.
Kohli was the first bat manufacturer to sponsor Dhoni and the cricketer paid back the support by sporting the BAS logo on his bat in the 2019 World Cup in England. Notably, he had also sported the SS sticker on his bat as well throughout the tournament, which proved to be his final outing for India in international cricket.
"Dhoni did not mention any money. He just said 'Put your stickers on my bats and send them across'. I tried to convince him, 'You're letting go of such a lucrative contract'. He let go of crores of rupees worth of contract. I requested his wife Sakshi, his father, mother. Even told his CA and Paramjit from Ranchi. They all went to his home before the World Cup. But he said 'No… it is my decision'," Kohli said in a video going viral on Twitter.
Dhoni's association with BAS and Kohli began way back in 1998. 25 years ago, looking for young and promising talent, Kohli trusted Dhoni and sent his kits to him. He only met MS Dhoni in 2004, when he made his India debut, and incidentally, Dhoni’s first ODI century came with 'BAS' on his bat.
Dhoni went on to sign for various sports brands such as Reebok, Spartan, and more, but even then Kohli would keep sending kits to Dhoni.
