'He let go of crores' - BAS owner Somi Kohli reveals MS Dhoni's kind gesture

MS Dhoni is one of the most adored cricketers around the world, not just because of his exemplary on-field exploits but also for his humble demeanour. 

Recently, the legendary cricketer was seen batting in the nets with a sticker of his childhood friend Paramjit Singh's sports shop - Prime Sports on his bat. He is expected to use that sticker on his bat during the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League. For the unversed, Paramjit helped Dhoni with his cricketing equipment in his early days and got the wicketkeeper-batter his first kit sponsorship with BAS.

While Dhoni's gesture to show his gratitude towards Paramjit by applying the sticker of his sports shop on his bat has won the hearts of the cricket fraternity, this is not the first time he has taken such a decision.

Also read: MS Dhoni’s new bat sticker goes viral

Somi Kohli, who is the owner of Beat All Sports (BAS), one of the leading sports manufacturing companies in India, recently revealed that during the ODI World Cup in 2019 in England, Dhoni did not charge a single penny for playing with the BAS logo on his bat.

Kohli was the first bat manufacturer to sponsor Dhoni when the cricketer was in the early stages of his journey towards fulfilling his dream of playing for the nation. According to him, the former India captain let go of a lucrative bat sponsorship contract worth crores of rupees and decided to show his respect for him for supporting him when he needed it the most.

"Dhoni did not mention any money. He just said 'Put your stickers on my bats and send them across'. I tried to convince him, 'You're letting go of such a lucrative contract'. He let go of crores of rupees worth of contract. I requested his wife Sakshi, his father, mother. Even told his CA and Paramjit from Ranchi. They all went to his home before the World Cup. But he said 'No… it is my decision'," Kohli said in a video which has gone viral on 'X' (formerly Twitter).

Also Read: 'Yaari No 1' - Prime Sports owner Paramjit Singh reacts to MS Dhoni's heartfelt gesture

Notably, Dhoni also used SS on his bat during the marquee event. India reached the semifinals, where the iconic cricketer scored a half-century against New Zealand. However, the 'Men in Blue' failed to get over the line and that went on to be the last time the cricketing world saw Dhoni in national team colours.

In 1998, Kohli had decided to help Dhoni and they eventually met in 2004 after the latter made his debut for India. Incidentally, the first of Dhoni's 16 international centuries came with the BAS sticker on his willow.