Former India captain MS Dhoni was blessed with a girl just a week before the start of the World Cup 2015. He wasn’t even carrying a mobile and he received the through his friend-cum-teammate Suresh Raina, who in turn informed the then skipper.
In recent times, there has been a lot of instances when Dhoni was seen playing with his daughter Ziva and he is clearly enjoying the fatherhood. He spoke about how it feels to be a father as he said, “It is a very different feeling, and I personally find it very difficult to put it in words. I have not really missed a lot of things in life, but after a while when I am outside, after a few days, I actually start missing Ziva. Not to the extent that it starts bothering my cricket and all, but it is the first time ever when I feel, maybe I should Facetime to see what she is really doing.”
Adding more to it, Mahi said he misses his daughter during his national duties and he has never experienced that sort of missing before in his 12 years of cricket. He said, “It is not like we interact a lot, she is very independent, she is very young but very independent, she does not really look for many people to be around her. I have played for India for about 12 years, even more, but that sort of ‘missing’ has never happened. I feel that is the fatherly feeling that makes it happen.”
Like every other kid, Ziva is naughty which was confirmed by her father. He said, “I think she is naughty (smiles), she is quite naughty. But at the same time, the experience that I have had with her, I think we are blessed to have a daughter like her. The reason being, right from the very start we started traveling with her, she was two months old, she has never troubled us at night. She would sleep at the right time, she would get up at the right time. She has been very good when it comes to eating food on time.”
Dhoni loves that Ziva is hyperactive as he said, “She has also been very careful when it comes to playing, she is careful about the stuff that is around her so that she does not get hurt. After a while, you feel comfortable that if you are not looking at her for one minute or two minutes or even more, the chances of an accident happening are very small. I also love the fact that she is hyperactive; once she is up, she is always on the move. She takes a nap for some time in the afternoon, but is always active.”
Dhoni considers childhood very important part of the life. He said, “Irrespective of the age of the child, I think that childhood is something very important. That is the time which is essentially the foundation stone of life. What you learn in childhood is what you will take with you going forward in life.”
He further added, “You do not have to be boring in life, you have to be naughty, you have to be mischievous, but at the end of the day, you know the boundaries and you are always supposed to be within the boundaries.”
MSD concluded by talking about the importance of sports in a life of a child, he said, “Studies are very important but sports are as important as studies and that is one thing I have always told all the young people that I meet. Being fit is something that has to be there through your life. Even if you are very intelligent and very good in studies if you are not fit enough, how will you enjoy your life? Everybody does not have to be a top athlete, but a normal level of fitness needs to be there. You are supposed to play some kind of an outdoor sport and spend less time on mobile phones and iPads, and use that time to play some kind of a sport – badminton, football, hockey. Be nice to everyone.”
