Mahendra Singh Dhoni considers the heavily accented English of locals "hard to understand" and as the biggest challenge.
He may not fear anything on field on foreign cricket tours but off it, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni considers the heavily accented English of locals "hard to understand" and as the biggest challenge.
"In countries like Australia or England, people speak English in such an accent that it is very hard to understand. So, at parties when locals come to us and start talking, even if we are not getting anything, we say yeah.
"Or if I have a drink in hand, I excuse myself by saying, 'I'll just get a drink' but never show up in front of that person again," Dhoni joked in an interaction with National Security Guard (NSG) commandos in Manesar for NDTV's Jai Jawan programme.
His language woes have not been limited to just trips abroad, Dhoni had similar problems while playing for Chennai Super Kings during the Indian Premier League (IPL).
"I played for Chennai but didn't know any Tamil. But people there thought that since I was part of the team, I had learnt it. So I just picked up a few words and for one and a half months that I played there, I relied on those to break the language barrier," he said.
The wicketkeeper-batsman lauded the NSG for their heroics during the Mumbai terror strikes, during which they rescued several hostages before clearing the under-siege Taj and Oberoi Trident hotels of terrorists.
"When the attack started and I watched it on TV, my first thought was where is the NSG? I knew that once you guys step in, the victory would be ours. What you did was remarkable and I thank you for it," Dhoni said.
Dhoni also saw the NSG training drill and played some cricket with the commandos, who took pictures of the star and shared some light-hearted moments with him.
One of them had Dhoni stumped by asking him about his marriage plans.
"
Shaadi ek aisa ladoo hai ki jo khai woh pachtaye, jo na khaye who bhi pachtaye. Main kha ke pachtana chaoonga, dekhte hain (Marriage is such a ladoo, those who eat regret and those who don't also regret. I plan to eat and then regret)... may be a year later, don't want to wait too long otherwise I will be an old man," he laughed.
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