Asia Cup: Why MS Dhoni wanted Khaleel to hold the trophy?

Team management can take Dhoni out of Captaincy but how can you take the captain out of Dhoni? This is the biggest observation that one can get after the Asia Cup trophy celebration. India won the Asian Cricket Council’s biggest trophy after beating Bangladesh in a close encounter with three wickets, and the stand-in-Captain Rohit Sharma lifts the trophy on behalf of the team. Later on, he asked the newcomer Khaleel Ahmed to hold it which became the massive moment for a small town guy.

Khaleel told media about the incident that made him the happiest man ever; Dhoni Bhai and Rohit Sharma asked me to hold the trophy at the podium. They gave me the cup because I was the youngest member of the squad and also it was my debut series. I had no words. That was an emotional moment for me which I will never forget.”

It was said that MS Dhoni walked towards Rohit Sharma and asked him to let Khaleel hold the trophy because he is the new member of the squad. Khaleel was pictured with the trophy which went viral and created a huge space in international media coverage. All the media houses praised the gesture of Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni.

The left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed from Tonk, Rajasthan earned the ODI cap for the first time in Asia Cup against Hong Kong where he got to enter the ground against Afghanistan as well. Khaleel opened up for the first time after the Asia Cup and shared his experience with the world. He said he was struggling in getting the early wickets then Dhoni came to him and said maintain your pace and bowl a little forward (Good length) which helped him break the opening stand of Hong Kong that scored 150 against India. Khaleel is an admirer of former India left-arm great Zaheer Khan. He follows Zaheer’s footsteps to perform better. Khaleel got the chance to spend one season of IPL under Zaheer Khan when both were playing under the banner of Delhi Daredevils. He said Zaheer is an inspiration to him, whenever he gets the chance to meet him; he tries to write his advice in a diary. That Diary helps him a lot.