There just is no one like MS Dhoni, or is there? Well, former Indian great Sunil Gavaskar compared the batting style of Afghnaistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz to that of MS Dhoni as he believes it “slightly” resembles that of the iconic finisher.
Gurbaz has been a talisman batter for the Afghan side, having played 37 ODIs and 49 T20Is, Scoring over 1200 runs in each format. The wicketkeeper-batter has also been acquired by the likes of Kolkata Knight Riders for the upcoming IPL season, and Gavaskar believes that the Afghan would make for a beneficial addition to the Kolkata side due to his aggressive batting style.
“I have liked Gurbaz’s batting a lot based on whatever I have seen. He is extremely aggressive, and his batting is like a slight copy of MS Dhoni, and that is why I probably like it,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports as quoted by Sportskeeda.
This comment would possibly strike close to home for the Afghan Gurbaz, who had previously acknowledged both MS Dhoni and talisman Indian batter Virat Kohli as helpful guides in his career.
Following their loss in the third and final T20I of a three-match series against India, Gurbaz revealed that he had been taking tips from the likes of India’s talisman batter Virat Kohli and the iconic WC-winning ‘Captain Cool’ MS Dhoni to help improve his performance with the bat.
Speaking to ANI, Gurbaz said, “I always talked to Virat and MS Dhoni about how to improve my cricket. I have a lot of things in my mind and I have to work on it. I was talking to Virat (bhai) about my cricket journey and how I should grow, and reach the next level.”
The Afghan’s talent with the bat was not the only thing that the Indian great heaped praise on for. Gavaskar also took time to acknowledge Gurbaz’s humble and grounded nature, which was evident in a touching gesture he made off the field during last year’s ODI World Cup 2023 in India.
After the end of Afghanistan’s campaign in the 2023 Cricket World Cup, a viral clip of Gurbaz surfaced, where the batter was seen giving money to those in need, who were sleeping on the sidewalks of the street.
Speaking about the video, Gavaskar said, “When the World Cup ended, after that, the job he did, he gave money to the people sleeping on the footpath. For doing that, he has to definitely be in the team for me.”
Comments
0 comment