5 movie stars who have quoted MS Dhoni as an inspiration

Former Indian captain MS Dhoni is an inspiration not only for those associated with cricket but also for people from all walks of life. His rise to superstardom from humble beginnings is a tale that has given wings to the innumerable dreams of the common man. With his hard work and dedication, 'MSD' has achieved the status of an all-time legend.

Dhoni’s record speaks for itself. He is the only captain in international cricket to win all three white-ball ICC trophies - the T20 World Cup, the ODI World Cup and the Champions Trophy. He has also led the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to four IPL titles. On the batting front, he has scored over 17,000 international runs.

Despite his humongous achievements, Dhoni has remained humble and down to earth, a quality that has endeared him to fans and celebrities alike. A number of movie stars have expressed their admiration for the former Indian cricket captain. Here’s a look:

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#1 Shahid Kapoor

Shahid Kapoor in a still from Jersey.

Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor recently played the role of a cricketer in his movie “Jersey”. While promoting the film, Shahid admitted that he was inspired by Dhoni and Kohli during preparations for his character.

During an interaction with Bollywood Hungama, Shahid said:

“As a batsman, there is no point in taking inspiration, because you will never be able to play as well as professional cricketers. But there is something about the presence and the personality of certain people which appeal to me. And I think MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli are two batsmen who I felt have a certain aura when they walk onto the pitch.”

Explaining why he identified with the two former Indian captains with regard to his role in "Jersey," Shahid elaborated:

“Those were two people that I saw a little bit before playing this guy (Arjun Talwar) because I connected with them not just as cricketers, but I connected with their passion for the sport. I could feel that every minute when they are on the ground and that is very inspiring to see in any sportsperson.”

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#2 Arjun Kapoor

Arjun Kapoor has hailed MS Dhoni more than once.

Back in 2018, actor Arjun Kapoor had described Dhoni as an inspiration for life. He was reacting to the cricketer being awarded the Padma Bhushan.

Re-tweeting a picture of MSD with then-President Ram Nath Kovind, Arjun shared a special message, which read:

"For me the man that genuinely took Indian cricket to another level in terms of mentality, physicality, attitude, consistency. M.S. Dhoni a leader and inspiration for life.”

Also, after Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket in August 2020, Kapoor mentioned that “captain cool” was the only one who left him star-struck. Paying tribute to the Ranch-born keeper-batter, he wrote:

“There are stars, there are legends & then there is Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The only man who left me star-struck on & off the field.”

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#3 Sushant Singh Rajput

Sushant Singh Rajput portrayed the character of MS Dhoni on-screen.

The late Sushant Singh Rajput, who portrayed the legend on-screen in his biopic “MS Dhoni: The Untold Story”, had described the cricketer’s life journey as one about believing in your dream.

Speaking at the India Today Mind Rocks Youth Summit 2016, Sushant opened up about the movie and Dhoni the person. He said:

“We are punctuating the belief Dhoni had in himself. There was not even an iota of doubt that if this thing doesn’t happen, then there is a plan B. One should not dream or work to achieve something to get a high status in society.

“You work for your dream because that’s the only thing that drives you. That’s the only thing that keeps you awake for that extra five minutes and wakes you up five minutes early in the morning.”

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#4 Yash

Back in 2019, in an interview with GQ India, 'KGF' star Yash termed Dhoni as his inspiration and praised the legendary Indian cricketer’s attitude.

Asked about the personalities who motivated him, the Sandalwood star replied:

“Shankar Nag (he) is a big inspiration in our state, MS Dhoni - his attitude and our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.”

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#5 Angad Bedi

Angad Bedi played a cricketer in the web series Inside Edge.

Angad Bedi, who has starred in films, television as well as web shows, has also expressed his admiration for Dhoni. In 2017, he featured in the first edition of “Inside Edge”, a web series with cricket as the backdrop.

During the promotion of the show in which he played cricket captain, Angad hailed 'MSD' and shared an interesting anecdote about the cricketer. He said:

"I remember when Dhoni first came to Delhi, the coach of Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium asked him... 'Aap kya karna chahte ho? (What do you want to do?)' He said, 'Sir main Bharat ka kaptaan banna chahta hoon (Sir, I want to be the Captain of Indian cricket team)'. He was humble, but he was sure of his abilities and I was drawn to that the most.”

Praising the veteran keeper-batter, the iconic leader, he added:

"Dhoni's head was very clear. And it showed in his leadership qualities even when he captained India with grace and dignity. I wanted to bring that grace and dignity in Arvind, my character in the show."

Angad has a strong cricket connection, being the son of the great Bishan Singh Bedi, a former left-arm spinner who also captained India.

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