MS Dhoni complements the tribal runners of Maharashtra

Veteran wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni is having a great time off the field. He was rested for the Nidahas Trophy and has got some time left before the start of the Indian Premier League. During this time, Dhoni has spent some quality time with his family and has also done some commercial shooting for his sponsors.

Dhoni went to the Mehboob Studio in Bandra for a commercial shoot. He took some time off to meet the Tribal runners from Shirpur taluka of Dhule district in Maharashtra. Dhoni spent 15 minutes with the runners and gifted them a bat with his autograph. The former skipper assured his full support to the runners who are deprived of good training facilities.

“We never expected to meet such a big cricket star. He asked us about our difficulties and enquired about our training. When we told him that these days, due to our exams, we train from evening till midnight, he was really impressed and encouraged us to work hard to achieve our goal,” Narayan Pawara, 19, who won the Singapore U-19 10-km run last December, told mid-day yesterday.

Awe-struck by MS Dhoni

Dhoni met Naryan, Somnath Pawara, Jagan Pawara, Chetna Patel and Ashwini Chaudhary. Talking about his meeting with MS Dhoni, Somnath said: “I was speechless after seeing him, but I somehow managed to tell him how I completed the Singapore 42km marathon by mistake instead of running 21km. I wore the same shoes gifted to me by Dhoni for that event. The bat he gave us too will always remain special.”   

India is a country with exceptional talent. However, many athletes are deprived of good coaches and training facilities that prevent them from representing their country and making a progress in their career. Unearthing talents in the backward areas and promoting sports in those areas can go a long way in the development of sports in India.