Karachi-born Mohammad Bashir Bozai has decided to quit watching ICC matches between India and Pakistan play at ICC events, as he was an avid follower of MS Dhoni, who announced retirement on Saturday. Traveling the world to watch the arch-rivals in action doesn’t make sense anymore to Bashir, aka “chacha”, instead, plans to visit Ranchi to meet the man whose sphere of influence spreads far and wide.

During a chat with PTI, Bashir said, “Dhoni has retired and so have I. I don’t see myself traveling for cricket again with him not being around. I loved him and he loved me back. All great players have to call time one day but his retiring makes me sad and brings back a lot of precious memories. He deserved a grand send-off but again he is beyond that.”

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The unspoken bond between Bashir and Dhoni blossomed after the 2011 World Cup semifinal between the arch-rivals. Dhoni had arranged a ticket for the ardent fan in arguably the biggest game of the tournament in Mohali, which was enough for him to “unconditionally love” the World Cup-winning captain for life.

Recalling the same, Bashir said, “I will go to his house in Ranchi when things get normal (post COVID-19 pandemic). That is the least I can do to wish him all the best for the future. I will also ask Ram Babu (another superfan, from Mohali, to come with me).”

He further added, “I would have traveled to see him in the IPL but there are travel conditions and with my heart condition, it is not safe to do so. During the Asia Cup in 2018, he took me to his room and gave me his jersey.”

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Such was his loyalty to Dhoni that Bashir would openly cheer for India and for that, he, at times, had been criticized by the Pakistani fans.