Carried Dhoni's Boost bottle cutout: When long-haired Mahi left young Samson in awe
Sanju Samson said sharing the CSK dressing room with MS Dhoni feels like living a childhood dream. Samson recalled as a kid he was starstruck by a long-haired Dhoni and shared how he carried the cutout of the CSK legend in his personal diary.
Sanju Samson said he is living every kid's dream, sharing the CSK dressing room with MS Dhoni and recalled being left in awe of the Indian legend during his childhood. Samson has been an ardent fan of Dhoni for a long time and has openly talked about coming to CSK and spending time with the former Indian captain.
During the latest episode of the Super Kings podcast, Samson revealed the story about how his fandom of Dhoni started. The wicketkeeper said he was a young kid when he first saw Dhoni play while sporting his iconic long hair look.
While the Indian legend struggled in his first few outings, Samson recalled how he became the poster boy of Indian cricket with his 148 against Pakistan and 183 vs Sri Lanka in Jaipur.
“I was in 4th or 5th standard, very small then. I remember seeing this guy with long hair walking out to bat for India. He would get out in a couple of games and then suddenly score a hundred against Pakistan. He scored 183, then he kept scoring big runs after that. From that moment, I became a huge fan of his," said Samson.
Samson revealed that he became such a big fan of Dhoni, that he started carrying the cutout of the legendary wicketkeeper from popular kids drink, Boost, on his personal diary.
"He was everywhere after that — posters, media, advertisements. He used to feature in Boost ads. At home, we used to drink Boost and there was a sticker on the bottle. I remember cutting Mahi bhai’s face out from that sticker and sticking it on my diary," said Samson.
'FEEL FORTUNATE TO BE HERE'
The CSK star revealed that he frequently chats with Dhoni and the IPL legend advises him constantly.
"From that moment to where I am now, what more can I say? I sit with him, talk with him, play games with him, go to his room and ask him anything I want. He advises me as well. It’s been a dream, actually more than a dream. I think any kid would dream about this and I feel very fortunate to be here,” said Samson.
Samson has scored 402 runs in 10 matches while Dhoni is yet to feature in a game for LSG.
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