Legendary Indian captain MS Dhoni was known for taking a stump back to the dressing room with himself after winning a match. However, when India defeated England in an ODI series six years ago, he wasn’t allowed to do that.
Yes, you read that right. Gifting a stump or a match ball isn’t something new in the cricket world. But Dhoni, who wanted to gift the stump to Virat Kohli, after the team’s victory couldn’t do that because it isn’t allowed anymore because of the high cost of LED stumps. Earlier there wasn’t an issue when wooden stumps were used in international games.
MS Dhoni Did Something Very Special For Virat Kohli In 2017
It has to be noted that the three-match series between India and England was Virat Kohli’s first assignment as India’s full-time all-format captain after MS Dhoni stepped down from the position. Team India, who won the first two ODIs in Pune and Cuttack respectively, won the series against England by 2-1.
Thanks for always being the leader a youngster wants to have around him. You'll always be my captain @msdhoni Bhai 😊😊
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) January 6, 2017
After losing the third ODI match, which was a dead rubber, Kohli revealed how MS Dhoni wanted to gift him a match-ball for having won his first series as a full-time captain. Dhoni wanted to make the occasion more special for Kohli so he also signed the ball for him. Kohli revealed:
“MS [Dhoni] gave me the match ball in the second game. The stumps are too expensive nowadays and they don’t allow us to take them home [smiles]. He gave me the ball and told me that it was my first series win as captain and it is memorable. It was a special moment for me and I got the ball signed from him as well,”
Dhoni gifted a white Kookaburra ball to Kohli that costs around INR 12,000. The ball is easily available both in online and offline markets in India.
