Cricket integral, not all for Dhoni: Zaheer

CHENNAI: Cricket remains integral but “not everything” for MS Dhoni, says his former India teammate Zaheer Khan, a man with a penchant for catching the world off-guard and an eagerness to explore various avenues.

At 42, the two-time World Cup winning captain Dhoni is gearing up to lead Chennai Super Kings in the upcoming IPL. The charismatic former India skipper had quit international cricket four years back.

“MS Dhoni understood a long time ago that he is passionate about cricket and it is an integral part of his life. But it couldn’t be everything,” said Zaheer, speaking to the media. Besides his World Cup triumphs and India’s march to the world number one position in Tests, Dhoni has led CSK to a joint-record five IPL titles, having taken on the top leadership role from the league’s inaugural edition in 2008.

Zaheer said, “When you’re playing, switching off (from the game) is very important. Cricket is not everything. Every cricketer has to face this eventually.” “When you step away from the game, you may not have a lot of options. We’ve seen many athletes struggle after retiring because they gave everything to the game, and when they left it, they didn’t know what to do. “In this sense, MS Dhoni understood a long time ago that he is passionate about cricket and it is an integral part of his life. But it couldn’t be everything. “He keeps doing things outside of the sport. For example, his interest in bikes. He’s always researching them.”