"If you want to bat you can, I will bowl to you too"- When a young MS Dhoni impressed Aakash Chopra with his mindset

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra narrated an incident involving himself and legendary wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni that made him realize that the latter was destined for big things.

Dinesh Karthik was initially above Dhoni in the pecking order even on the India A tour to Zimbabwe and Kenya. Chopra was a bit surprised to see Dhoni bowl to Karthik in the nets and went and asked him why he wasn't practicing his own skills instead.

The young MS Dhoni's unexpected answer gave Aakash Chopra an idea about just how he thought about the game. In a video on his Twitter handle, Chopra said:

"It was year 2004 when India A had the tour of Kenya and Zimbabwe. MS Dhoni was the reserve keeper and Dinesh Karthik played in the XI. Once as he was bowling to Karthik in the nets, I asked Dhoni 'Why are you bowling to him? He is your direct competition. If he does well, you don't play in the XI. You should practice batting or keeping. Why bowling?' To this, Dhoni said 'Please don't stop me. I want to bowl. If you want to bat you can, I will bowl to you too.'"

Master of his own game, MS Dhoni continues to redefine greatness. The only competition he faces is the one in the mirror. 🏏💪 #DhoniLegacy #Aakashvani https://t.co/auGcAv81nt

Aakash Chopra on the lesson he learned from MS Dhoni

Aakash Chopra opened up on how MS Dhoni's thought process allowed him to realize that the best thing is to only focus on what's within your control and not stress a lot about anything else.

Chopra feels that this is one of the main reasons why Dhoni has kept things simple and achieved so much success as a player and as India's captain. He further stated:

"When I look back, I realized the meaning of that incident and understood why only he has been able to achieve what he has. Dhoni's competitior was not Dinesh Karthik or anyone else. It was Dhoni himself. So there's the lesson. Be the best version of yourself because you are your biggest competition."

Dhoni just won a record-equalling fifth IPL title with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and has said that he will try his best to be back next season.