‘He was walking near the Wagah border’ – Sourav Ganguly's witty response to Parvez Musharraf's question related to MS Dhoni

Retired Indian cricketer MS Dhoni has fans all around the world. Former Pakistan president, Pervez Musharraf too was a fan of Dhoni. Back in 2006, Musharraf even told him, in the post-match presentation, not to cut his golden-streaked hair locks, which was a trendsetter among men. The then wicketkeeper-batter made his international debut under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly.

In fact, it was the southpaw who backed the then 24-year-old player even when he didn’t get enough runs in the initial few matches. On Ganguly’s 49th birthday, an old anecdote involving Dhoni is going viral on social media. During Team India’s tour of Pakistan in 2006, Musharraf was interested to know how Ganguly selected the Jharkhand-born Dhoni in the national team.

Ganguly answered the question by saying, Dhoni was just having a walk near the Wagah border and the team recruited him from there. “I still remember Pervez Musharraf asking me from where did you get him? ‘I told him he was walking near the Wagah border and we pulled him in,” Ganguly had recalled at an event in 2018.

Sourav Ganguly praises MS Dhoni

During the event in Kolkata, Ganguly further opined that Dhoni had a phenomenal career for India and he has paved the way for a lot of youngsters to come into the team by sheer hard work.  The now 49-year-old believed in his six-hitting prowess and his ability to hit the ball a mile.

“He’s another champion… Fantastic career for 12-13 years since winning the World Twenty 20. I wish him (Dhoni) all the luck because we want champions to go on a high, whenever he goes. I still feel he can hit the ball in the stands. He’s a phenomenal cricketer,” Ganguly said.

Dhoni celebrated his 40th birthday on Wednesday, and the wishes kept pouring in from across the world. Players like Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Mohammad Kaif, Virender Sehwag, and Yusuf Pathan, etc were among many notable names who wished the former Indian captain on his birthday.