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When MS Dhoni Asked Afghanistan Player To Lose 20 Kgs For An IPL Contract

image-lpw9q6n9MS Dhoni (Twitter)

Fitness and fielding are two non-negotiables for MS Dhoni as the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper, and he wouldn't accept anyone part of his Indian Premier League (IPL) juggernaut to be carrying a big tummy. 

Dhoni once even put money on the dream of his fanboy and Afghanistan's experienced opener, Mohammad Shahzad, by stating without mincing words that he must shed 20 kg if he were to fulfil his desire to share the cricket field with the legend for CSK.

This interesting tale was revealed by Afghanistan's former skipper, Asghar Afghan, who opened the lid on an amusing conversation on the sidelines of the 2018 Asia Cup game played between the two countries in Dubai.


When Dhoni Asked Shehzad To Shed 20 Kgs For IPL Dream

The match ended up being a historic tie as India and Afghanistan shared points. After the proceedings, the two teams indulged in the traditional handshakes, and multiple Afghanistan players relished the chance to chat with the legend on the other side. 

Afghan remembered being one of them before disclosing how the chat resulted in laughs and the brutal comment from Dhoni as the discussion tilted towards Shehzad and his CSK ambitions. 

"After the tied match, I had a long chat with MS Dhoni. He is a superb captain and a god's gift to Indian cricket. He is a nice human being. We spoke about Mohammad Shahzad a lot," Asghar told Times of India. 

"I told Dhoni bhai that Shahzad is your big fan. Dhoni said Shahzad has got a big tummy and if he loses 20 kg, I will pick him in the IPL. But when Shahzad returned to Afghanistan after the series, he gained 5 more kgs (laughs)." 

Indian fans would remember it as Dhoni's last match as an international captain. Having quit Tests in December 2014 and relinquished his leadership post at the beginning of 2017, Dhoni donned the captaincy hat one final time for India in the absence of the then-regular captain Virat Kohli and stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma.