Former India captain MS Dhoni was spotted at the JCSA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi on Tuesday as the hosts completed their maiden Test series clean sweep against South Africa on 4th day of the 3rd test. The BCCI shared a post, in which the wicketkeeper-batsman was seen giving tops to local hometown boy Shahbaz Nadeem. There were speculations before that Dhoni, who was born in Ranchi, and also played domestic cricket for the state, will be making an appearance at the stadium during the 3rd Test.
Dhoni is currently away from international cricketing duties, as he requested for an extended break following India’s defeat against New Zealand in the World Cup semifinal clash. The 38-year-old served with the Territorial Army in Jammu and Kashmir in August, and was not named for the West Indies series.
Dhoni was also seen meeting up with Indian coach Ravi Shastri, who took to Twitter, to share an image of the two together. “Great to see a true Indian legend in his den after a fantastic series win,” he wrote on Twitter.
He was also not named for the T20Is against South Africa, and if reports are to be believed, he is set to miss India’s next series against Bangladesh as well.
Meanwhile, another local boy, Nadeem starred during the day’s play which lasted all of 9 minutes. The left-arm spinner picked up the remaining two wickets in two deliveries, to finish with a total of 4 wickets in his debut game.
Coach Ravi Shastri praised Nadeem for his performance in his debut game and said: “Yesterday when he got his first wicket, I was saying ‘If Bishan Singh Bedi was watching, he would’ve said ‘cheers young man’. It was a spinner’s delight. To watch it from the outside was classical. 420 plus wickets, the guy has put in the yards, about time he gets the distance.”
“Glad he finished off the game. In front of his home crowd. To take four wickets, what was remarkable was the way he started. There was no nerves, first three overs were maidens. Every ball was on the spot. That’s because of his experience,” Shastri added.
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