New Delhi: He achieved fame and adulation in cricket but Mahendra Singh Dhoni is also “quite good” with football and has even impressed a top Indian professional footballer.
The 39-year-old Dhoni, who bid adieu to international cricket on Saturday to bring the curtains down on a glorious career, loves to play the world sport and has often trained with Indian Super League side Chennaiyin FC, which he co-owns. It was during those sessions that India striker Jeje Lalpekhlua saw the two-time World Cup-winning captain’s football skills and instincts.
“He just loves to play football. If he is around, whenever we’re playing a small-sided game during training, he’d always try to join us,” said Jeje about Dhoni. “Of course, he’s played football when he was a kid and you can gauge how much he still enjoys playing even now. He was always so good with the ball at his feet.” Dhoni, would sometimes don the goalkeeping gloves during Chennaiyin FC’s training sessions. “He may have been a goalkeeper back in school. But when he’s playing, it has bene evident that his skills with his feet have not left him. He’s quite good at football, to be honest,” Jeje said in an AIFF release. Dhoni was also helpful to Chenniyin FC footballers and he would offer them tips on how to deal with injuries. (PTI)
