Dhoni favourite of top India shuttlers

Former India skipper MS Dhoni may be on the last bend of his career but he remains the outright favourite of young Indian badminton stars. The Chennai Super Kings skipper, who seems to have rediscovered his form and the art of finishing matches in this year’s IPL edition much to the delight of his fans, has for long been a role model for achievers from other sports too.

Rio Olympic silver-medallist PV Sindhu says if given a choice to choose a doubles partner from the current crop of Indian cricketers, she wouldn’t mind playing alongside Dhoni or Virat Kohli.

“I would choose one of the best from the Indian team to be my doubles partner. I don’t know how all of them play! There is a lot you can learn from Dhoni and Kohli,” said Sindhu, who was in the stands to watch the last home game of Sunrisers Hyderabad. “There’s a lot you can learn from them even being in a different sport. The aggressiveness, the way they play, there’s lots to see from Dhoni and Kohli.”

Her male compatriot, Kidambi Srikanth, currently the world No. 4, is a big fan of Dhoni and received a cricket bat signed by the former India captain from BCCI selection committee chairman MSK Prasad.

In fact, it was Srikanth’s father KVS Krishna, who had introduced Prasad to wicketkeeping.

“Srikanth is a big fan of MS Dhoni. He once asked me a gift from MS Dhoni. I told him if he can reach the top level in badminton, he will get his gift,” Prasad said after handing over the bat to Srikanth at the Pullela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad on Saturday.

Prasad said that when he told Dhoni about Srikanth’s desire, the former captain was more than happy to oblige. “I have spoken to MSD about Srikanth’s wish. He was more than happy to hear this and told me he himself is a badminton player and follows Indian badminton very closely. MSD has sent a personally signed autographed bat to my house as a gift to Srikanth,” he said.

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