MS Dhoni has inspired Rio Olympic star Caster Semenya

MS Dhoni, or Mahi as he is fondly called by fans, may not have had a good IPL season 10 with the bat thus far, having managed only 204 runs in 11 matches. But that has not hampered the Godlike position that he enjoys among fans not just in India but worldwide. South African Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya too has joined the MSD fan bandwagon.

In a tweet on Thursday, she called Dhoni an ‘inspiring’ person. Mahendra Singh Dhoni the former Indian captain to lead India to 3 prestigious trophies – T20 World Cup 2007, World cup 2011, and Champions Trophy 2013, inspired a lot of people with his journey from being a ticket collector in railways to the 22 yards which was shown on the big screen in his biopic MS Dhoni: The Untold Story.

The South African star tweeted, “@msdhoni i have just watched your film.. Inspiring story it is.. #msdhoniuntoldstory… Salute..,” she wrote.

@msdhoni i have just watched your film.. Inspiring story it is.. #msdhoniuntoldstory… Salute..

— Caster Semenya (@caster800m) May 3, 2017

Semenya won a couple of silver medals in 800 meters race 2011 and 2012 World Championships followed by the gold medal in 2016 Rio Olympics for her country.

The former Indian captain’s rise from a small town like Ranchi which had no place in the cricketing map is a story popularly told in Indian cricket circles and has broken the common perception that only the bigger centres attract the best talent.

Dhoni was not just a great international captain but also enjoyed immense success as a captain in the IPL. The wicketkeeper-batsman won the IPL and Champions League two times as the captain of the Chennai Super Kings. His ability to lead and finish close matches transformed the Chennai team into the most dominant and fiery team in the 8-teams competition. But when a two-year ban was imposed on the franchise, his services were secured by the Pune team.

However, his beloved team Chennai Super Kings along with Rajasthan Royals will be back in the eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League, and in all likeliness, Dhoni will be seen leading the team one more time in yellow colours.