“A Modest Replica of MS Dhoni”: Rahmanullah Gurbaz of Afghanistan is praised by Sunil Gavaskar

Simply put, nobody compares to MS Dhoni—or does he? The batting approach of Rahmanullah Gurbaz of Afghanistan is comparable to that of MS Dhoni, according to former Indian great Sunil Gavaskar, who feels that it “slightly” resembles the legendary finisher.

Gurbaz has been an invaluable batsman for the Afghan team, amassing over 1200 runs in 37 One-Day Internationals and 49 Twenty20 Internationals. For the next IPL season, teams like Kolkata Knight Riders have also recruited the wicketkeeper-batter. Gavaskar thinks that the Afghan’s aggressive batting style would be a good asset to the Kolkata team.

“From what I have seen, Gurbaz’s hitting has impressed me much. I definitely enjoy it because he is really aggressive and his batting is kind of like an MS Dhoni clone,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports, as cited by Sportskeeda.

The Afghan Gurbaz, who has previously hailed both MS Dhoni and star Indian batter Virat Kohli as significant mentors in his career, may find this statement particularly poignant.

Gurbaz said that, in an effort to enhance his batting performance, he had been receiving advice from players such as India’s captain, Virat Kohli, and the legendary “Captain Cool,” MS Dhoni, after their team’s defeat in the third and final Twenty20 international of a three-match series.

Gurbaz remarked, “I always talked to Virat and MS Dhoni about how to improve my cricket.” in an interview with ANI. I need to work on the several things that are on my mind. I was discussing my cricket experience and how to go to the next level with Virat (bhai).

The Indian great gave the Afghan a lot of credit for more than just his bat skills. In addition, Gurbaz’s modest and grounded demeanor were acknowledged by Gavaskar, who also mentioned a heartfelt gesture he made off the field during the ODI World Cup 2023 in India last year.

Following Afghanistan’s 2023 Cricket World Cup campaign, a video of Gurbaz went viral, showing the batter donating money to those who were sleeping on the streets and in need.

“After the World Cup ended, the job he did, he gave money to the people sleeping on the footpath,” Gavaskar stated in reference to the film. He has to be on the team for me, no doubt about it, after doing that.