Gill’s rare commitment goes on to indicate the kind of unending, unusual, and, perhaps, the frenzied passion of the Indian cricket fan, particularly at an age the country’s cricket is dominating the world stage.
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Ajay Gill waving the Indian National Flag on Friday (13) during his remarkable journey to see his cricketing idol. The other photo shows Gill’s amazing hair cut which also depicts his adulation for his cricket hero[/caption]
Ajay Gill, who had been considered one of the biggest fans of India’s former cricket Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had walked 1,400 km to meet his hero, the Indian media reported on Sunday (15).
Former World Cup-winning Indo Skipper and present Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Dhoni retired from international cricket exactly one year ago on 15 August 2020, a report appearing in the Inside Sports in India remembered.
It added: “(Dhoni) has a big fan following in India and across the world. One of his biggest fans named Ajay Gill walked over 1,400 km to meet his hero on the (Indian) Independence Day (15 August).
Sixteen days on foot
“Gill travelled from Haryana to Ranchi in (the Indian State of) Jharkhand. Ajay had to walk for over 16 days to reach his destination. He started his journey on 29 July and reached Dhoni’s residency in Ranchi on 15 August,” the above report explained.
“Dhoniji se mil ke hi ghar lautunga” (I will return home only after I meet Dhoni), Ajay Gill had told the Telegraph India.
“The 18-year-old said Dhoni would certainly spare 10 minutes for him as he came from such a far-off place on foot. Though it is a tough ask, Ajay claimed to have walked for 16 days since 29 July to cover over 1,400 km from his village Jalan Kheda in Hisar District of Haryana,” reported Achintya Ganguly in Ranchi on the Telegraph in India.
Miss the hero by about two days
“The only problem was Dhoni was in fact in Chennai (in South India) and getting ready to fly to Dubai on Friday (13) for the resumption of CSK’s IPL campaign,” the report further added.
Unfortunately for him, Dhoni is now in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for IPL 2021 second phase. However, Ajay was not convinced to leave even when he was told that Dhoni will return from UAE after three months, stressed the Inside Sports.
Frenzied fan base
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He had coloured his hair with the colours of Dhoni’s CSK team and also partially tonsured his head in such a manner that “Dhoni” was written on one side and Dhoni’s nickname “Mahi” on the other[/caption]
Ajay, who works at a saloon at his village, drew the attention of passersby because of his look. He had coloured his hair yellow, orange, dark blue, and light blue -- the colours of Dhoni’s CSK -- and also partially tonsured his head in such a manner that “Dhoni” was written on one side and Dhoni’s nickname “Mahi” on the other side.
Gill’s rare commitment goes on to indicate the kind of unending, unusual, and, perhaps, the frenzied passion of the Indian cricket fan, particularly at an age the country’s cricket is dominating the world stage.
“A fellow barber from Sonepat did it for free when he found me walking towards Ranchi and learnt about my purpose. I’ll also get it signed by Dhoni ji,” Ajay had told the Telegraph.
Returns home in a flight
Asked about the reason for his adulation, Ajay had said he also played cricket earlier but stopped after Dhoni declared his retirement from international cricket in 2020.
On why he had come all the way to Ranchi, Ajay had said: “I now want to start afresh with his blessings,” adding that Dhoni had come in his dream one night and asked him to visit.
“We are impressed that he walked all the way from Haryana but convinced him to return now and come again later,” the Telegraph had said quoting one Anurag Chawla, who along with his three friends had taken Gill to a hotel for the day and also bought him a ticket for a Delhi-bound flight in the evening.
Dhoni, a memorable hero
“Ranchi is a beautiful place with its wonderful people,” Ajay said before boarding the flight, adding that he was grateful to them for everything they did.
“This being Dhoni’s hometown, Ranchi has its share of both cricket and the craze for the game,” an onlooker had said at the airport.
“Dhoni has given many memorable moments to cricket fans by captaining the Indian cricket team to victory in the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 50-overs World Cup, and 2013 Champions Trophy. He retired from international cricket in 2020. His last international match was against New Zealand, the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup,” noted the Inside Sports.
Right now M.S. Dhoni is gearing up for the IPL 2021 phase-2 in UAE. His Chennai Super Kings team left for Dubai on Friday (13). The franchise is one of the first teams to have landed in UAE for preparations of the IPL’s second stage that is scheduled to start on 19 September.
Did not know Dhoni’s movements
This means the CSK team had left for UAE with more than five weeks to go for the start of the tournament. The teams are reportedly required to be in the UAE about one month in advance for quarantine so as to obey the existing Covid-19 bio-security protocols there.
On 4 May 2021, the IPL 2021 was suspended indefinitely, after a rise in Covid-19 cases within the bio bubbles of respective teams. At the time of the suspension, 31 of the scheduled 60 matches were still left to be played. On 29 May 2021, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that the remaining matches of the tournament would be played in the UAE in September and October 2021.
The schedule for the remainder of the tournament was released on 25 July 2021, reportedly four days before Gill had left his home.