Former Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan has revealed an interesting chat he had with MS Dhoni, the former India captain and the current CSK skipper, about the Afghanistan wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad.
In his career, Mohammad Shahzad has featured in 73 T20Is for Afghanistan and 158 T20 matches overall. He has hit 2 centuries and 28 fifties in the shortest format. However, he was never picked up in the IPL auction – the hindering factor is chiefly believed to be his poor fitness and being overweight for an elite cricketer.
Asghar Afghan revealed that it was MS Dhoni who jokingly told him that he would pick Mohammad Shahzad for CSK in the IPL auction if Shahzad dropped 20 kilos.
MS Dhoni is a superb captain and a god’s gift to Indian cricket: Asghar Afghan
Asghar Afghan and MS Dhoni had a short chat after the India vs Afghanistan encounter in the 2018 Asia Cup in Dubai. Dhoni was the captain for that match as Rohit Sharma, who was the skipper for the 2018 Asia Cup, was rested.
The match ended in a tie. After the game, Asghar Afghan met with Dhoni. They talked about Shahzad, to which the CSK skipper jokingly pointed at Shahzad’s weight.
Asghar Afghan hailed Dhoni as a “gift to Indian cricket” and praised his humbleness.
“After the tied match, I had a long chat with MS Dhoni. He is a superb captain and a god’s gift to Indian cricket. He is a nice human being. We spoke about Mohammad Shahzad a lot. I told Dhoni Bhai that Shahzad is your big fan. Dhoni said Shahzad has got a big tummy and if he loses 20 kg, I will pick him in the IPL,” Asghar Afghan told in an interview to Times of India.
“But when Shahzad returned to Afghanistan after the series, he gained 5 more kgs,” he added.
Asghar Afghan, who is now retired from international cricket, applauded the efforts that the BCCI has put into the development of the Afghanistan team.
“Honestly, BCCI has played a big role in Afghanistan’s cricket development. They supported us a lot. Since 2014 till date, BCCI has been very supportive. We were given a home ground. Afghanistan loves cricket and its cricketers,” Ashghar said.
