Ranchi, Jan 27: As Team India take on New Zealand in the first T20I at the JSCA International Cricket Stadium on Friday (January 27), former India cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni made his presence felt.
The local crowd's favourite, MS Dhoni was spotted at the stadium along with his wife Sakshi and childhood friends.
The former India captain - who brought Jharkhand and Ranchi onto the international scene with his performance - has made it a habit of attending all the India games.
The legendary India cricketer also has a pavilion in his name at the JSCA Stadium. The wicketkeeper-batsman was caught on camera when the national anthem was being played before the start of play.
On the eve of the opening T20I between India and New Zealand, Dhoni visited the stadium and interacted with everyone on the Hardik Pandya-led side. The BCCI, on Thursday, shared a video in which Indian cricketers could be seen chatting with the former cricketer and sharing some light moments with each other.
MSD + Ranchi = 🤩
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 27, 2023
When the Ranchi crowd welcomed the legendary @msdhoni in style 😃👌#TeamIndia | #INDvNZ | @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/40FoEDudSv
Dhoni was also spotted sharing a laugh with New Zealand opener Devon Conway - who plays with him for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. Dhoni has also started preparing for the upcoming IPL 2023 as he's going to lead CSK.
The chants of 'Dhoni-Dhoni' reverberated at the venue when the camera panned towards him. The 41-year-old also acknowledged the crowd by waving to the camera.
Commentator Mohammad Kaif - who was in the commentary box - lauded the legendary cricketer for maintaining his fitness and reckoned the latter has started preparing for the IPL.
Pandya also shared an image with Dhoni while recreating a scene from the movie Sholay. The all-rounder and former cricketer were clicked - in what was probably the latter's garage - sitting on the motorcycle and carriage.
Earlier on Thursday, while interacting with media persons on the eve of the match, Pandya said, "It's good that Mahi Bai is here and I can see him. And when we meet, we try to talk more about life than games. I learned a lot from him when we played together. I learned a lot from him."