MS Dhoni takes a train from Ranchi to Kolkata for the Vijay Hazare Trophy
What’s the story?
We all know for a fact that if there is one Indian cricketer who does things his own way, whether playing or not, it is Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The 35-year-old never seems to pay any attention to how others handle a particular situation and is always more concerned about his own methods of going about dealing with things.
In yet another example of that, the former Indian skipper decided not to travel in some chartered flight ahead of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Instead, he chose to join his teammates on a train journey to Kolkata, where they will be based during the course of the competition.
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This was the first time in 13 years that Dhoni had taken a train as a mode of transport to travel from one city to another to play a game. On the way to Kolkata, the team also passed Kharagpur, a place that is significant for Dhoni – prior to becoming the great cricketer that he is today, he served as a ticket collector at the station.
The heart of the matter
The 2011 World Cup winning skipper posted an image of himself with the rest of his teammates on board on his Instagram account, much to the happiness of his large fan base.
As many as fifteen seats were reserved for the Jharkhand players on the Howrah-Hatia Kriyayoga Express and the team boarded the train from Ranchi, amidst heavy security cover for the players on Tuesday.
The President of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association Kuldeep Singh was very pleased to have Dhoni as the team’s captain and said that his support would help the state attain the next level as far their cricket is concerned.
“Dhoni has always inspired players of his home state. We are happy with Dhoni’s wish to play for the Jharkhand team. His active support will take the team Jharkhand to another level,” he told the Hindustan Times.
He further added that under the guidance of Dhoni, the team was headed in the right direction.
“Jharkhand team is scaling a new heights for last few years under the guidance of Dhoni. We are expecting a remarkable performance in this tournament,” he said.
Extra Cover: MS Dhoni named Jharkhand captain for 2017 Vijay Hazare Trophy
Sportskeda’s take
It is really nice to see a player of the stature of Dhoni travel with the rest of the team members via train when he had the option of going in a luxurious plane or a jet on his own. It is an indication of how he has not let his status come in the way of forgetting his roots, and one can only hope that more players in future show a similar attitude.