Throwback I When Pervez Musharraf hailed MS Dhoni’s impact during India’s tour of Pakistan in 2006

Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on Sunday (February 5) entered eternal rest at the age of 70 after he passed away in Dubai. Musharraf who served as the President of Pakistan during India’s tour of Pakistan in 2004 and 2006 had a close bond with sports and was often seen attending cricket matches as one of the most famous moments came in 2006 when Rahul Dravid’s men were in their arch-rivals backyard.

Dhoni wins the tight contest for India

Thanks to Shoaib Malik’s 108 runs in the first innings of the Lahore ODI, hosts Pakistan set up a mammoth 289-run target for India. In reply, the Indian team was seen in great touch and it was one certain MS Dhoni who grabbed the headlines with his unbeaten 72-run knock off just 46 deliveries which also saw him being awarded ‘Player of the Match’ as India won the contest by five wickets.

Musharraf hails MS Dhoni’s impact in Lahore with special praise for hair

In the post-match presentation, which was attended by then-President Musharraf, he hailed the impact that saw India edge his homeland while lamenting that Dhoni was the sole reason why India ran out winners. In a very special praise, he also said that he would love MS Dhoni to keep his iconic hair which had seen him become his fan. 

“I saw a placard which said ‘Dhoni have a haircut’. If you want to take my opinion, You look good in this haircut. Don’t have a haircut,” said President Musharraf while India won the contest with 14 balls to spare.

The incident is widely remembered by many cricketing fans as both nations enjoyed glorious times and fought on the cricketing field. The 2006 tour was the last time India visited Pakistan in a bilateral series while the 2008 Asia Cup was the last time India were in the land of their arch-rivals.

While there is still tension between the nations due to diplomatic reasons, the incident in 2006 will go down as one of the most famous in the rivalry and one that former President Musharraf had fond memories of as he passed away on Sunday.

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