India’s budding wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson is a huge admirer of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and always dreamt of playing for the Indian team under his captaincy.
It was a dream he harboured since playing for India as a 19-year-old during an England tour.
“After that, I didn’t play for India for five years,” Sanju Samson said during an Instagram chat with Chennai Super Kings.
“For those five years, I was dreaming of playing for India, I was literally dreaming,” he added.
Samson shared an anecdote where he actually had a dream about being instructed by skipper Dhoni on the field.
“I had a dream that Mahi bhai is the captain of the team and he is changing fields,” Samson said.
“I was standing in slip and he said ‘Sanju, wahan jaa (go there),’ and I ran to the position,” he added.
“After a few days, we got the news that he has stepped down from captaincy. So, I was thinking how will that dream come true? I don’t think that is going to happen,” Samson continued.
However, Samson was to have his wish during an India ‘A’ game against England in which Dhoni was asked to lead.
“After a few weeks, we played a match in Mumbai, with India ‘A’ against England, for which they asked him to captain,” Samson said.
“And I was standing in the slips and he said ‘Sanju, udhar jaa’, and I ran to position, so finally that dream happened,” he added.
Samson, a huge fan of Dhoni said just the mention of his name brought a smile to his face. He also conceded he was too nervous to tell Dhoni about his dream.
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