India’s premier leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal recently revealed his initial interactions with former captain MS Dhoni that left him stunned with the Ranchi-born’s down-to-earth nature and his humbleness.
The latest winner of the Purple Cap in the IPL 2022, Chahal made his ODI and T20I debuts on the tour of Zimbabwe in June 2016 and received the cap from MS Dhoni, the then skipper.
The wily leg-spinner recalled his chats with Dhoni, saying that he wasn’t even able to speak much in front of Dhoni.
6 years ago, ODIs
Yuzi. The rest is history.
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) June 11, 2022
Yuzi. The rest is history. 
Dhoni asked Chahal to not call him “Sir”
Chahal revealed that he used to address Dhoni as ‘Sir’ which the former India captain then asked him not to.
“I received the ODI cap from the great MS Dhoni. He is a legend and I was with him for the first time. I was not even able to talk in front of him. He talks so nicely that you wonder if he is really Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the legend,” Chahal said on the YouTube show Breakfast with Champions.
“When I met him for the first time in Zimbabwe I used to call him Mahi sir. After a while (later) he called me over and said, ‘Mahi, Dhoni, Mahendra Singh Dhoni or Bhai…call me whatever you want but not ‘sir’,” added the leggie.
About his recent form, Chahal has got back his place in India’s T20I eleven following a thrilling IPL 2022 campaign for the Rajasthan Royals where he helped the franchise to the final.
He snapped up 27 wickets in 17 outings at an economy of 7.75. He didn’t have a great start in the South Africa series, leaking 75 runs in 37 balls across the first two T20Is but made a strong, Man of the Match worthy comeback in the third match, picking up three wickets for 20 runs and helping India stay alive in the series.
