‘Mahi bhai is not my friend…’: Khaleel Ahmed opens up on his sacred connection with MS Dhoni

Young India pacer Khaleel Ahmed shared his camaraderie with legendary India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and shared a memorable incident involving him from New Zealand. Khaleel, who made his ODI debut in Asia Cup 2018, played under Dhoni's captaincy in the match against Afghanistan during the tournament when stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma missed out due to an injury.

It was a special match for Khaleel as he got to open the bowling for India, which was one of his dreams. The left-arm paceman called Dhoni his 'guru' and recalled the special moment from the Asia Cup 2018.

"Mahi bhai is not my friend, not my elder brother, he is my guru. Since my childhood I wanted to become the bowler who took the first over from India since I had watched Zaheer Khan growing up. In the Asia Cup, Mahi bhai, asked me to bowl the first over. I ran so hard, away from the huddle thinking that if I give it time he might change his mind," Khaleel said in a conversation with Aakash Chopra on his YouTube Channel.

Khaleel's memorable moment with MSD

Khaleel further shared an anecdote behind his viral photo with Dhoni, in which the legendary wicketkeeper gave him flowers. He revealed that it was from New Zealand, where Dhoni gave him the flowers which some fans gave him.

"We were in New Zealand, Mahi bhai's fans had given him flowers, he passed it onto me and some fans took a photo, it was quite memorable for me," Khaleel said.

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Meanwhile, Dhoni was last seen in action on the cricket field during IPL 2024, where he played as a specialist wicketkeeper batter under Ruturaj Gaikwad. Five-time champions, the Chennai Super Kings, failed to qualify for the playoffs, but Dhoni managed to entertain the crowd, which came in large numbers to support him at every venue. Coming down the order with very few balls left, Dhoni scored 161 runs in 11 innings at an average of 53.66 and a strike rate of 220.54, with best score of 37* and a total of 14 fours and 13 sixes in the season. There is still no confirmation yet whether he will return to IPL 2025 as a player.