In the 2007 T20 World Cup, he proposed Dhoni for captaincy. Mahi lived up to the hype, leading Team India to two World Cup victories. Aside from that, he won the Champions Trophy and was ranked first in Tests.
When Dhoni was asked about the first time he met Sachin, he went into great detail. Mahi met Sachin for the first time in 2000-01, which was 21 years ago.
During an event hosted by renowned journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, Dhoni said, "I first met Sachin in the 2000–01 or 2001–02 season long before Sachin." I don't recall the year precisely. The Duleep Trophy was the game we were playing. At the time, I was a member of the East Zone squad.
I had given the players water in two matches. Sachin was playing in the match, which took place in Pune. During that match, we didn't speak to each other. Sachin was playing about 190 at the time, and I was lucky enough to catch him. With water, I went to the crease. At the time, he was there. I provided water to my teammates. Then Sachin asked, “Can I get some water as well?”
“It was a remarkable moment for me,” Dhoni continued. I'm from Ranchi, and I never expected to meet Sachin. I was offering him a drink which was a special moment. Dhoni said of his time as Sachin's captain, "I always shy away from the field talking to Sachin." We didn't have any clear discussions about the Bangladesh trip.
After that, we were scheduled to play against Pakistan. The first match took place in Kochi, followed by a match in Visakhapatnam. In the first match, Veeru Pa (Virender Sehwag) scored a century and Sachin took 5 wickets.
“When he used to come bowling, he used to ask me whether to put leg-spin or off-spin,” Dhoni continued. Mix or add brisk. My hesitation came to an end as a result of this. I had to be able to react whenever they asked me after that. If he used to say that I put off spin, I would have said that leg spin would be more effective. He talked in a friendly way, which removed my hesitation.
Despite this, I still shy to talk to him outside the field. ”
When Dhoni took retirement from International cricket, Virat Kohli tweeted a video.He said he'll always be "grateful" to Dhoni for backing him.