"Today, it is very hard for me to call him Mahi Bhai" - CSK's Robin Uthappa on his relationship with MS Dhoni

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Robin Uthappa recently spoke about how strange it was for him to address his good friend MS Dhoni as 'Mahi Bhai', like the other teammates.

Speaking on Ravichandran Ashwin's YouTube channel, Uthappa revealed that he had shared his dilemma with Dhoni. The wicketkeeper-batter stated that the former India captain told him to call him by a name of his choice.

Uthappa said:

"Today, it is very hard for me to call him Mahi Bhai. Because when I got to know him, he was Mahi, MS. I played with him after 10-12 or 13 years. So, I asked him, what should I call you, dude? Like, I don't know. Should I call you Mahi bhai? Because everyone around me is calling you that. He was like, call me MS, or call me Mahi or call me however you want."

He recalled that he first came face-to-face with Dhoni during the Challenger Trophy in 2004. Uthappa added that it was cricketer-turned-coach Sridharan Sriram who introduced him to the Ranchi-born cricketer.

"I met MS Dhoni for the first time in 2004. I played my first Challenger Trophy at that time and it was in Bombay. Sridharan Sriram was also there during that series and I was very close to him. Sree bhai was also close to MS Dhoni and they also got along pretty well. I met MS through him and then we started hanging out together. But that meeting was very brief," he added.

The right-handed batter pointed out that he bonded with his now CSK teammate on a tour to West Indies, which was his first with the national side. He became friends with the likes of MS Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, RP Singh and Piyush Chawla during the series.

He said:

"When I joined the Indian team, my first tour outside of India was to West Indies. I made my debut, then we went to Dubai where we played 3 matches against Pakistan and from there, we directly went to West Indies. MS and I became really good friends during the course of that series. I didn't play many games and was sitting on the bench.

"MS was playing, but we spent a lot of time together and we became really close. MS, Irfan Pathan, RP Singh, and Piyush Chawla all of us hung together. Our daily menu was naan and, daal makhani. RP loves jeera aloo and Irfan loves butter chicken."

The 36-year-old is currently plying his trade with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the ongoing 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022). He is an integral part of the CSK squad and has been assigned the all-important opening role.

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"When MS Dhoni spoke, everyone listened and that was not when he was the captain" - Robin Uthappa

The veteran batter added that even before Dhoni became the Indian captain, players would listen carefully when he spoke in the dressing room. He suggested that there was something special about the keeper.

He explained:

"There was something different about MS even before he became the captain. He was very different. In that era when MS played for India, all of them were very special in a slightly shinier way. But he was special in a simple way. Always under the radar, quiet and simple. But had a great sense of humor. When he spoke, everyone listened and that was not when he was the captain at all. Even before he was the captain. He would only speak when he was spoken to."

The CSK legend went on to become one of the most successful captains in world cricket, winning all three ICC trophies of the white-ball game. While he announced his retirement from international cricket in 2020, he remains one of the top draws in the cash-rich league.

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