‘If He Loses 20 Kg, I Will Pick Him In IPL’ : Asghar Afghan Recalls Funny Chat with Ex – India Captain

Asghar Afghan Reveals Funny Conversation With Ex-India Captain: Over the years, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has played a major role in uplifting the game of cricket in Afghanistan.

Asghar Afghan who is the captain of Afghanistan has recalled the interaction with Legendary MS Dhoni about the 2018 Asia Cup tie match with India. At that time, when Afghan had an interaction with MS Dhoni, Afghan told him that Mohammad Shahzad was a big fan of him.

Then Dhoni answered Afghan that he would pick him in the IPL if he lost 20 kg.

‘If He Loses 20 Kg, I Will Pick Him In IPL’: Asghar Afghan Memorable Incident With MS Dhoni

Shahzad is the person who won the Player of the Match award in the 2018 Asia Cup that was held in Dubai. He is the opener for the Afghanistan Cricket Team.

In that Asia Cup match, he scored 124 runs off 116 balls, with 11 fours and one six, and in that match, he was the best player.  After the Completion of the match between Afghanistan and India, Afghan met Dhoni and said about Shahzad how big a fan of him.

When he interacted with the Times of India and recalled that situation and said in the interview that,

“After the tied match, I had a long chat with MS Dhoni. He is a superb captain and a god’s gift to Indian cricket. He is a nice human being. We spoke about Mohammad Shahzad a lot,” 

“I told Dhoni bhai that Shahzad is your big fan. Dhoni said Shahzad has got a big tummy and if he loses 20 kg, I will pick him in the IPL. But when Shahzad returned to Afghanistan after the series, he gained 5 more kgs (laughs).”

And also that 33 Year Old recalls even about the match and said that,

“The tied match of the 2018 Asia Cup was the best moment for me. That was the best match. Both Afghanistan and Indian fans were in tension. India needed 1 off two balls.

I decided to place Najib (Najibullah Zadran) towards mid-on. I told Rashid to bowl a leg break and Jadeja was out caught to Najib towards mid-wicket. Rashid was so happy, he hugged me,”

He also said that,

“Honestly, BCCI has played a big role in Afghanistan’s cricket development. They supported us a lot. Since 2014 till date, BCCI has been very supportive. We were given a home ground. Afghanistan loves cricket and its cricketers.”

#OnThisDay in 2018, Afghanistan bowlers produced a special performance, including a thrilling final over by Rashid Khan, to hold India to a tie in the Asia Cup 👏

It was only the eighth tie in India's ODI history! pic.twitter.com/f3UJZmpX8H

— ICC (@ICC) September 25, 2020

MS Dhoni made his Test debut 18 years ago, he will go down as one of the great Wicket-Keeper batter ever.

– Relive one of the iconic moment in his career. 🐐pic.twitter.com/iZrecArlyU

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) December 2, 2023