“I still feel pressure meeting Dhoni” — Reveals Why Rinku Singh calls him ‘Jaani’ and speaks about Afghan fan suicides after Pakistan loss
4 min readMar 23, 2026 07:59 PM IST Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz says MS Dhoni is the reason he became a cricketer — and that he still gets nervous when he meets the Chennai Super Kings legend. Gurbaz also spoke about the human cost of Afghanistan’s 2022 Asia Cup defeat to Pakistan, saying fans took their own lives after the loss. “My idol since childhood has been MS Dhoni,” he said in an interview with Shubhankar Mishra’s YouTube channel. “I started cricket because of Dhoni. I became a wicketkeeper because of Dhoni.” Even after years of playing alongside the world’s best, Gurbaz said Dhoni still has a unique effect on him. “With every player in the world I have met, I feel nothing. But when I am talking to MS Dhoni — I still feel pressure. He is a very good person. Every time, he calls me himself: come, let’s talk.” His dream, he added, is to one day play for Chennai Super Kings. “Always my dream team — only because of him. I started …
