‘My hero forever’: Here’s Ranveer Singh’s tribute to MS Dhoni; ‘83’ actor posts unseen pictures with Mahi

Bengaluru: Bollywood actors joined cricketers, politicians and fans to pay rich tributes to former India captain MS Dhoni, who retired from international cricket on Saturday evening (August 15). One of the tributes from the Hindi film industry which continues to garner likes on social media is from actor Ranveer Singh. The actor posted three old pictures of himself with Dhoni and wrote a long tribute. Read on to see those images and what the 83 movie actor penned.

The 39-year-old Dhoni bid adieu to international cricket but he will play IPL 2020 for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The tournament has been shifted to the UAE amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Dhoni has already joined his CSK teammates and is preparing for IPL in Chennai. His last match for India was in July 2019 in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand.

In his tribute, Ranveer wrote on Instagram that Dhoni is his “hero forever”. Also he hailed the wicketkeeper-batsman as “one of the greatest sportsmen to have ever lived”.

He began his Instagram post with, “This little gem of a photo is one of my prized possessions. It was taken around the year 2007/08 at ND Studio in Karjat. I was about 22 years old, working as an assistant director. I took up this particular job only because the ad film featured the one & only MS Dhoni. I was overworked and underpaid, but I didn’t care- I just wanted to be in His presence.”

He continued, “I was even injured at the time, but I worked through the pain in the hope that as a reward for my sincere efforts, I would be granted a chance to briefly meet MSD and maybe get a photo with him. When I finally met him, I was completely awestruck. He was so humble, so down-to-earth, full of grace and exuded an unmistakable aura of kindness. My love, respect and reverence for him grew even stronger.”

Ranveer, who is married to actress Deepika Padukone, recalled his first meeting with Dhoni. He wrote, “After I did my first movie, Sapna (who was our common hairstylist at the time) called me one day and said ‘hey I know you’re a massive MSD fan, he’s shooting at Mehboob studio, come & meet him if you’d like’. Man-oh-man! I just dropped everything and rushed to the studio to meet him! He was jovial and warm and praised my performance in BBB. We hung out, I had my cap and jersey signed by him, like a true fanboy. That day, I felt like I was walking on the clouds!”

He further stated, “Since then, every time that I have the good fortune of meeting him, I am left energised and enthused, as if a big brother has blessed me with energy and motivation to go out and be the best that I can be.”

Ranveer concluded, “MSD is one of the greatest sportsmen to have ever lived. I’m lucky to have witnessed his playing career in my lifetime. A paragon of excellence. An icon of the sport. My hero forever. Thank you Mahi Bhai for bringing glory to our great nation and filling a billion hearts with pride. #MSD the #GOAT”

Here is the screengrab of Ranveer's Instagram post on Dhoni.

Dhoni took to Instagram to announce his international retirement.