Former Indian cricketer-turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has revealed that former India captain MS Dhoni had told him about his future in international cricket way back in 2017.

Dhoni, who played his last competitive cricket during the 2019 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand, has already started gearing up for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020. During a chat show on Saturday, Manjrekar said that his conversation with Dhoni took place during Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s wedding in Italy. 

“During Virat Kohli’s wedding, I had a little corner time with him and he said as long as I am beating the fastest sprinter in the team, I am going to consider myself fit enough to be playing international cricket or playing high-level cricket,” Manjrekar was quoted by PTI.

“People like Tendulkar, Dhoni, these are champion cricketers. Once they are on a public stage, you will never see Dhoni ever on a public stage, like a cricket field, looking slightly unfit or unable to sprint or run…,” Manjrekar further said.

Manjrekar also reckoned Dhoni would come good in the IPL, saying the presence of “only four-five” good bowlers in the league is not enough to trouble the seasoned campaigner.

“He is going to be very good and one of the reasons he is so successful and consistent in IPL as a batsman as opposed to international is that he knows that there are about four to five bowlers to handle,” Manjrekar said.

“There are some good ones and there are some not so good ones in the IPL. In international, you have got five quality bowlers, so he’s so good at picking out those guys and going after them,” Manjrekar added.

“So, as a batsman, with MS Dhoni in the IPL, I don’t see much difference.”

Dhoni, who has led the Chennai Super Kings to three IPL titles, has played 190 games in the T20 league, scoring 4,432 runs.

Manjrekar, who has played 37 Tests and 74 ODIs, said that it is going to be about the mind and not just power hitting for the former World Cup-winning captain in the IPL.

“In fact, the conditions that we have, I keep saying, is just perfect for Dhoni, where it’s going to be about the mind and not just power hitting,” he concluded.