Kolkata: There are many reasons why the former Indian captain, MS Dhoni is so loved, not only in India but across the world. Over the years, the man from Jharkhand has eclipsed hurdle after hurdle as he took Indian cricket to greater heights. Other than his cricketing accolades, if there’s a reason for people to hold him in high esteem, it has to be his down-to-earth personality. And in another act of remembering and reliving his past days as a ticket collector at the Kharagpur station in West Bengal under the South Eastern Railways, the former Indian skipper invited his old friend for a grand dinner, who is a tea-seller at the platform of the station to whose shop, Dhoni visited quite often in the past.
Thomas, who quenched Dhoni’s thirst for tea quite regularly in the past, travelled all the way from Kharagpur to Kolkata to catch a glimpse of his old customer who was captaining the Jharkhand side for the Vijay Hazare Trophy whose matches are being played in miscellaneous centres in West Bengal. His attempt bore fruit as Dhoni identified him instantly while he was waiting outside the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Quite rightly so, his joy knew no boundaries as Dhoni rushed and gave a hug to his old customer who decided to invite the former to a grand dinner at the hotel where the Jharkhand team was staying.
Overjoyed and emotional, Thomas in an interaction with the Daily Bhaskar said that he was going to rename his tea-shop carrying Dhoni’s name. He said, “When Dhoni bhai (brother) was in Kharagpur, he used to visit my shop two or three times a day to have tea. Many times I served him hot milk in that period. After today’s incident, I will go back to Kharagpur and name my shop ‘Dhoni Tea Stall.” Well not only Thomas, but the modest cricket star met 11 of his old friends during his stint with the railways. He made sure that no stone was left unturned in making his old mates feel comfortable.
The humility of India’s most successful skipper was justified few days back when quite surprisingly he had chosen to travel in train with his Jharkhand team to participate in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He was travelling in an AC first-tier compartment from Hatia to Howrah as he chose to spend more time with his teammates. “I am travelling in a train after 13 years. It is a long route and I will enjoy it. I’ll talk to my team-mates and enjoy” he had said.