What hasn’t changed is Yashasvi Jaiswal’s admiration for Dhoni. He is still at a loss for words when asked to describe his feelings for the legendary cricketer.

Yashasvi Jaiswal was all of 18 when he first met MS Dhoni. He could not think of anything but to fold his hands and do ‘Namaste’ at the first sight of Dhoni standing in front of him. It was during an IPL match in 2020 between the Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings. A lot has changed in Jaiswal’s life since then. He has risen through the ranks to become RR’s one of the most bankable match-winners and is now hours away from making his Test debut for India in the series opener against the West Indies in Dominica. But what hasn’t changed is his admiration for Dhoni. The left-hander is still at a loss for words when asked to describe his feelings for the legendary cricketer.

I was speechless when I first met Dhoni Sir because it’s difficult to put into words how it feels to meet someone you’ve grown up watching on TV. Since I was short on words, I just said “Namaste sir.” It’s a blessing to see him, and I felt shivers, but I’m still having trouble speaking. In an interview with Ruturaj Gaikwad for bcci.tv, Jaiswal said, “I want to spend a lot of time with him to learn a lot.”