MS Dhoni's former teammates had nicknamed him ‘terrorist’

After the enormous success he had as a cricketer and Indian captain, MS Dhoni’s biopic gave people a perspective into his life and the journey from Ranchi to lifting two ICC trophies. The T20 World Cup in 2007 that really was the turning point for Dhoni the captain and the player as well as the World Cup 2011 which established him among the best in the business. The movie also brought a lot of people into prominence one amongst those was Satya Prakash – a close associate who helped Dhoni get a job in the Railways.

Prakash also played cricket for Bihar with Dhoni in the early 2000s and knows him inside out. Ahead of the Indian team’s World Cup 2019 campaign, where now a veteran, Dhoni once again has to play a key part for the team, his friend has revealed some interesting and funny details. He mentioned that when they played together back in the day, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s teammates would call him ‘atankwadi’ (terrorist).

“We used to call him atankwadi (terrorist). He used to hit 40-50 runs in 20 balls. But he became a saint when he played for the country and changed his approach. He is a good learner,” Prakash was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.

The former Indian captain who was a swashbuckling hitter at the start of his career and in the initial few years really transformed into a reliable middle order player and massively successful finisher once he was the full-time captain of the team.

Before being appointed the national team skipper, Dhoni hardly captained even at the domestic level. His primary focus was scoring the big runs while batting and being as effective as one could be behind the stumps.

“Dhoni rarely captained in the past, but see how he became the captain of some all-time great players. He always spoke in Hindi, but now he speaks fluently in English. We friends never really gauged his potential,” Satya Prakash said.

Also read- World cup 2019: India is lucky for having breakthrough bowlers, says Rahul Dravid

Dhoni’s humble beginnings

Son of a Paan Singh and Devki Devi, Mahi had a humble childhood and grew up through financial struggles before he decided to follow his dream and pursue a cricketing career. He had a job with the Indian Railways and would represent the team in Ranji Trophy cricket.

From there he’s had a 15-year long international career, has won three ICC trophies and is now preparing possibly for his last major outing with the national team.

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