"He sat on the floor" - Faiz Fazal narrates unheard MS Dhoni tale

Former cricketer Faiz Fazal has opened up on his debut for Team India and shared his experience of sharing the dressing room with the legendary MS Dhoni.

While Faiz Fazal enjoyed a stellar career in domestic cricket, he did not really get the chance to prove himself in international cricket. After toiling hard for years in domestic cricket, the former cricketer finally got the chance to make his debut for Team India at the age of 31. He was picked in the second-string Indian team for the tour of Zimbabwe.

He played just one ODI for Team India and played a match-winning knock of 55 runs while opening the innings with KL Rahul as India chased down 124 without losing a wicket. Faiz Fazal did not get another chance to play for India. He continued to play domestic cricket before retiring from professional cricket last month. Opening up on his experience of playing for India, Faiz Fazal said it was his dream to represent the country.

“I was 31-year-old, working very hard in First class cricket to make my debut. Every individual dreams of playing for India. Similarly, it was with me. It was an ultimate dream that I should represent my country. And by god’s grace, after so many years of hard work, I got the cap,” he told CricketNext.

“It’s not just been me who has put in the hard work. My parents, my coaches, everyone has supported me a lot and it’s because of them that I was able to play for the country,” he added.

Speaking further, the former cricketer said that he was emotional and teary-eyed when he received his maiden India cap. The 38-year-old stated that receiving the cap from none other than MS Dhoni only made the occasion more memorable.

“Actually feeling to describe hi nahi kar sakta hu. I was very emotional and teary-eyed when I got the cap. The cherry on the cake was that I got the cap from MS Dhoni. Moreover, we won that match and I struck an unbeaten 55.

“I was happy that I made some contribution for the team. I think everything is written in your destiny. In a population of 1.5 billion people, if you get a chance to represent the country, that’s just amazing. I’m really fortunate and blessed,” said Fazal.

Faiz Fazal on playing with MS Dhoni:

Faiz Fazal also shared his experience of playing with MS Dhoni. The former Vidarbha cricketer hailed Dhoni as a ‘humble and down to earth’ person. He also shared a story to narrate Dhoni’s humble nature, saying:

“MS Dhoni is so humble, down to earth and he doesn’t make you feel that he is MS DHONI. I will share an experience with you. We were returning from Harare and sitting in the lounge. MS came in and all of us offered him our seat. He just said “nahi nahi tum log betho” and he sat on the floor. He is a legend and he makes you very comfortable.”

Fazal retired after playing 138 first-class games and scoring 9184 runs with the help of 24 centuries and 39 half-centuries.