The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) top order batter Saurav Chauhan got a chance to meet the former World Cup-winning captain of the side, MS Dhoni, during the recent 2024 season of the Indian Premier League. The youngster met the legend during the opening game of the event at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Saurav Chauhan met Dhoni along with some of the RCB fans at the end of the game in the dressing room after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) earned an opening victory in the game.
Speaking on the podcast of Ishan Joshi, the left-handed batter disclosed that when he went to take the autograph of Dhoni, he accidentally carried a marker that wasn’t working properly.
“I wanted MS Dhoni’s autograph on the back of my T-shirt. He asked me to bring a marker so that he could sign. I ran to take a marker, and there were two markers, one was open, and one was closed. I was in a hurry, so I took the open one, which was not working, and I gave it to him.” Saurav Chauhan expressed that in the video.
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It wasn’t a pleasing start in the IPL career for the batter, who has enjoyed the shortest format while playing for Gujarat, where he has thumped 482 runs in 22 innings at an average of 25.36 and a strike rate of more than 150, with the help of four half-centuries.
“He tried to sign with that marker, but it did not work. So, he said, ‘Kya sasta marker le kar aa gaya hai tu yaha pe, chal bhi nahi raha.’ (From where did you get this cheap marker? It’s not even working.) Then, before I left to change the marker, Dhoni himself went to take the other marker and gave me his autograph.” Saurav Chauhan recalled the words of the veteran wicket-keeper batter.
In 13 List-A innings, the batter has collected 476 runs at an average of over 43 and a strike rate of more than 116, shouldering on a couple of half-centuries and two centuries with a best score of 141. In three innings of the IPL, he got only 18 runs, although.
“Waited 15 to 20 minutes to meet MS Dhoni”- Saurav Chauhan
In the same episode of the podcast, the left-handed batter disclosed that he and some of the other players of the RCB franchise had to wait for nearly 15 to 20 minutes before they got the chance to meet Dhoni, who was quite humble with everyone at the end of the game.
“I waited for 15 to 20 minutes to meet him. He had gone inside, and I was waiting outside with some other RCB youngsters. So, we told the officials we wanted to click pictures with him. We were told to wait for 10 minutes because he was busy.” Saurav Chauhan claimed.
The batter didn’t get a chance to face Chennai Super Kings in the season, but he will look forward to doing it in the future.
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“Then, we went inside and spoke with him. At that time, it did not feel like I was talking to MS Dhoni. He was so humble. I took some batting tips from him.” The youngster addressed.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council has already marked October 31 as the deadline for the retention list to be submitted, and if the RCB side doesn’t go on to retain Saurav Chauhan as an uncapped player, he could hope to be part of the Super Kings.