MS Dhoni shunned business class seat to sit with TV crew in flights: Sunil Gavaskar

Former Indian cricket captain Sunil Gavaskar recently revealed an interesting habit of veteran wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni during domestic flights. He said that the Indian team rewards its top-performing cricketers on chartered flights by giving them an option of taking one of the business class seats. He then added that in spite of MS Dhoni being the captain of the team from 2008-2016, the cricketer would rarely sit in business class and would rather spend time with the television crew in economy class.

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Sunil Gavaskar reveals Indian team's travel culture

While writing for Mid Day, Sunil Gavaskar hailed the Indian team’s way of rewarding their players on chartered flights. Gavaskar wrote that during international matches in India, both teams usually travel in a chartered flight from one venue to the next and they are also accompanied by the technical television crew. He added that the business class seats are dominantly occupied by captains and coaches of the side while the remaining Indian players sit in the economy class. However, the Indian team rewards its top-performing players from their previous matches with a chance to sit in the business class.

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Sunil Gavaskar hails MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli for “building team spirit”

The legendary batsman continued that MS Dhoni hardly ever sat in the business class even when he was the captain of the side. He further wrote that the 2011 World Cup-winning skipper preferred sitting with the television crew in economy class. According to him, present Indian captain Virat Kohli usually follows the same routine and cited his examples from India’s tour of Australia in 2018-2019. He hailed the Indian team’s gesture by describing its importance in building “team spirit” among the players.

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MS Dhoni donation and status of IPL 2020

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic prompted the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to postpone the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) season until further notice. As cricketers and Indian citizens continue to remain indoors amid the coronavirus-induced India lockdown, MS Dhoni donated a sum of ₹1 lakh to a Pune-based NGO in order to lend a helping hand in combating the contagious disease throughout the country.

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