India’s star all-rounder Hardik Pandya opened up about his relationship former skipper and current mentor MS Dhoni. The Mumbai Indians player is set to represent India in the T20 World Cup. Virat Kohli and co play their first game against Pakistan on October 24.

Talking about Dhoni, Pandya said that the Chennai Super Kings captain is the only person who could keep him calm after setbacks. The 28-year-old referred to Dhoni as his ‘brother’. 

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“He knows what kind of an individual I am. He knows me quite deep. I am very close to him. He is the only person who can make me calm. When all this happened, he knew that I needed support. I just needed a shoulder, which he provided multiple times in my cricketing career,” Hardik Pandya told ESPNcricinfo.com. 

“I never saw him as MS Dhoni the greatest. For me, Mahi is my brother. I respect and admire the fact that he was there when I needed him the most,” he added.

Dhoni joined the squad, as a mentor, on October 17. He comes after guiding the Chennai Super Kings to their fourth IPL title. 

  Also read: T20 World Cup: Virat Kohli ‘absolutely delighted’ to have MS Dhoni as mentor

Hardik Pandya’s skills have been questioned in the past year. His injuries, inability to deliver with the bat and not ball regularly have been major points of criticism. He scored 127 runs in 11 innings this IPL at an average of a little over 14. 

India play a warm-up game against Eoin Morgan’s England on Monday. 

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Squad:

India Squad: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar, Varun Chakaravarthy