'MS Dhoni touched my father's feet, made my family 'believe' we are close friend': Journalist shares stunning story

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MS Dhoni is a man rooted to his culture, and one of the rare cricketers who continue to win hearts with their down-to-earth nature despite achieving it all in cricket.

There are several stories on Dhoni's humility, and journalist Vimal Kumar has added one more to the cabinet, and this one is pure gold. In the latest episode of '2 Sloggers' on YouTube, the Jharkhand-born journalist narrated an incident from the launch of his book 'Sachin: Cricketer of the Century'.

He revealed how he persuaded the former Indian captain to come to his book launch, and in the process shared a story of humility which will put smiles on the faces of any cricket fan.

"I thought there was no harm in asking. Sachin Tendulkar had said that he will come in the book launch but not speak because the work on his autobiography was already going on and his publishers had suggested him not to speak. It was enough for me that Tendulkar was coming, and I was happy. He suggested me to look for someone. It was than that I asked Dhoni to come on the launch of my book. He did not commit then," Vimal Kumar said as he opened the MS Dhoni anecdote on an exciting note.

Vimal Kumar, who earlier got a solid content for his book by convincing Dhoni to talk about Sachin Tendulkar, followed Dhoni to Hyderabad, and convinced Dhoni for one more favour, but this time using an 'emotional card'.

"There was a Test match in Hyderabad, and I went there specially and booked a room in Taj Hotel at my own expense. It was a Saturday, and I was sitting out looking for Dhoni at 7 in the morning. Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher were siting. He spotted me, and I joked to him about paying my hotel bills as I could not afford it. He said that he would confirm after the Test match.

"Dhoni called me after the match as I went running. Dhoni was sitting on the front seat, and Virat was behind him. I asked for his confirmation for the launch, and said that I would be booking my father's train ticket to Delhi only after his confirmation. I told him that my father has no idea about cricket and just recognises you and Tendulkar. He has said that he will come only if you are there. Virat was carefully listening and wondering what the discussion was about. Dhoni said. 'Now you are playing the emotional card?!' I told that this was the only card left. He agreed to come," Vimal Kumar added.

Not only did MS Dhoni agree to attend Vimal Kumar's book launch event, but also kept in mind that he does not spend a lot of money on making any special arrangements for him.

"He was so concerned that I would be spending money booking a luxury car to pick and drop him, that he offered to come with Sachin Tendulkar ( A separate car for Sachin was already booked). He knew that I was making all the expenses and not any company.

Sachin and Dhoni came out together from the car, and I was so much in awe of Sachin that I forgot that Dhoni was also there. I apologised to him, and Dhoni played it down by saying, 'I can understand'. It was the coolest moment, he was so calm! He made it so light. All three of us ended up laughing," the senior journalist said.

'He touched my father's feet, media was shocked'

Vimal Kumar saved the best part of the story for the last. He beautifully narrated how Dhoni touched his father's feet before receiving the book, and how he gave an impression of being his 'close friend' by talking to his family in the local dialect for a good 40-45 minutes.

"I called my father to present the book to Dhoni, and Dhoni before taking the book, touched the feat of my father. The media was shocked. He interacted with my family for 40 minutes and talked in the regional accent and language. My family is so simple and naive that they thought Dhoni was my very close friend. He made them feel in a short duration that we share a great bond, and he is my close friend."