5 Dhoni moments from the India-New Zealand ODI series

#5 Dhoni’s Nayi Soch

Indian players sporting their mothers’ names on their back

Dhoni had his moment off the field of play too. The Indian team stepped out onto the field for the deciding game of the ODI series with a ‘Nayi Soch.’ We’re not talking cricket here. The ‘Nayi Soch’ was an initiative of Star India to commemorate motherhood. In an unprecedented gesture, the Indian players wore special jerseys sporting their mothers’ name during the 5th ODI at Visakhapatnam, as an acknowledgment of their contribution to their growth and success.

At the toss, MSD gave an emotional speech on his thoughts about this novel initiative. “I think it's a brilliant initiative (speaking about the special jersey). Also what's important is that, we are quite used to surname from dad's side, but it’s important to appreciate the contribution of moms. If you ask me, I was always emotionally connected towards my mom. It's just that the mother's contribution often we don't appreciate it the same way,” he said.

“It's something I request and the whole of India should keep in their mind, often we talk about soldiers and get patriotic before the 26th of January and 15th of August. What's important is to get up everyday and thank them for what they have been doing and in the same way the contribution of mom, we need to appreciate it in the same way,” he added.

Dhoni’s respect and admiration for the Indian Army is well known, but it was heartening to see him take this opportunity to give us two good messages.