It’s a Holi day at Dhoni’s home

It was Holi come six months too early for the people of Jharkhand with the ‘star of Jharkhand’ being picked to represent India at Bangladesh. 23-year-old Mahendra Singh Dhoni — Mahi to friends — has just made his fledgling state proud and his friends and family brought a festive feel to the whole occasion last evening.

Dhoni started as a footballer before kicking the ball away and picking up the bat instead. His Ranji call-up came in 1999 after a series of good performances for DAV School and his district in then Bihar. The first step towards the big time came earlier this year, when his batting form encouraged selectors to pick him in the ‘A’ team’s tours of Zimbabwe and Kenya. 478 runs from the nine games after, he had attracted the senior selectors’ attention. What must have sealed it were the 121 and 122 not out he hit against Pakistan A soon after the African safari.

Back home, Jayanti (20) was watching: ‘‘Mahi was on 96. Junaid Zia was bowling and Mahi hit him for a huge six to complete his century.’’ Jayanti continues, ‘‘He was so obsessed with cricket, he spoke about nothing else over lunch and dinner.’’

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Childhood friend Shabir Ahmed takes over. ‘‘He is tailor-made for the one dayers. In an inter-school match in 1995, he scored 217 from 137 balls with 26 fours and six sixes,’’ Shabir says, flipping through a photo album.

More friends pitch in as Dhoni even gets a call from chief minister Arjun Munda. Munda, Dhoni told us, said, ‘‘Now the star of Jharkhand will shine worldwide.’’

The man himself was at hand for a comment or two, and when we asked him about the call-up, Dhoni said, ‘‘I rang up my parents. Who else could I have called? I don’t have a girlfriend.’’