Pals of Dhoni recall salad days with the Captain

Apart from sharing their last names, Ajay Kumar, Rakesh Kumar and Satish Kumar have also two more things in common - all played with Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the local cricket league and are now working journalists in the Team India captain's home town of Ranchi.

But the trio hardly thought when playing local cricket that a day would come the Kumars would watch Dhoni leading the country in a one-day international at a stadium, not far from the grounds they shared golden moments with the 'Captain' .

Come Saturday, Dhoni's former local teammates are expected to congregate at the newly constructed JSCA International Stadium Complex when Dhoni would lead the team against England in the third ODI. "I am wonderstruck! It's a moment of pride for us and glory for Ranchi that one among us has gone on to become the captain," Ajay Kumar, who used to play from Youth Sporting Club alongwith Dhoni, says nostalgically.

Going down the memory lane, Rakesh Kumar, who works with a news channel and has the opportunity to cover his buddy playing on January 19, narrates some of the happier moments he spent with Dhoni. "Players of our Royal Sports Club used to bet that the player wearing the costliest cap should gift it to the player playing the best knock. Dhoni used to win quite a few. Once in a league match, Dhoni was so thrilled winning the SG cap for playing a winning knock of 63 runs that one has to see to believe it," Rakesh Kumar shares.