[Picture] Joginder Sharma reunites with MS Dhoni after 12 years
Joginder Sharma, the hero of the 2007 T20 World Cup final, met former India captain MS Dhoni after a long gap of 12 years on Friday, August 2. Joginder, who serves as the DSP of police in Haryana, shared pictures with Dhoni, where he could be seen wearing the police uniform while the latter opted for a casual T-shirt and black pants with white sneakers.
Dhoni had picked Joginder to bowl the final over ahead of Harbhajan Singh in the 2007 T20 World Cup final against arch-rivals Pakistan. The former cricketer defended 12 runs despite getting hit for a six off the very first delivery.
The Men in Blue won the game by five runs to win the inaugural edition of the ICC event. It was the first of many ICC trophies for Dhoni, who also won the 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy.
Sharing the photo of his reunion with MS Dhoni on Instagram, Joginder Sharma captioned the post:
“It was nice to meet @mahi7781 after a very long time. The fun of meeting you after almost 12 years was different today.”
Joginder Sharma represented India in four T20Is and as many ODIs. He also played for Chennai Super Kings under Dhoni in the Indian Premier League. However, his breakthrough came in domestic cricket, where he represented Haryana in 77 first-class matches and 80 List-A games. He picked up 297 and 115 wickets in the two formats, respectively.
With the bat, he amassed 2,804 runs in first-class cricket with the help of five tons. The 40-year-old announced his retirement in February 2023.
Meanwhile, MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket in 2020 but is yet to take a call on his IPL career. The 43-year-old said that IPL 2025 retention rules will decide whether he will play next season.
He said (via ESPNCricinfo):
"There is a lot of time for it. We have to see what decision they take on player retention etc. Right now, the ball is not in our court. So, once the rules and regulations get formalised, I will take a call, but needs to be in the best interest of the team."
“Go with Joginder” – Yuvraj Singh reveals Harbhajan Singh suggested Joginder Sharma bowl the final over of the 2007 T20 World Cup final against Pakistan
Last year Yuvraj Singh claimed Harbhajan Singh suggested to MS Dhoni that Joginder Sharma should bowl the last over against Pakistan in the 2007 T20 World Cup final.
Yuvraj told Ranveer Allahabadia in 2023 (via CricToday):
“There was actually a decision where Bhajji was supposed to bowl the final over. Dhoni went up to him and said that with experience, only you have to bowl. So, Bhajji said, ‘I bowled to Misbah one over and he smashed me for three sixes, so go with Joginder.’ It was Harbhajan who gave that idea to him.”
Rohit Sharma recently led India to their second T20 World Cup triumph by winning the 2024 edition. The Men in Blue beat South Africa by seven runs in the final.