THIS PAKISTAN-BORN CRICKET FAN GETS MATCH TICKETS FROM DHONI, SINCE 2011: YES IT'S TRUE!

MS Dhoni is one cricketer who is loved and adored by all. He is not just popular in India but across the globe. Apart from impressing his fans with a match-winning knock in the final of World Cup 2011, Dhoni was also in the news for providing match tickets for a Pakistan-born cricket fan, Mohammad Bashir aka "Chacha Chicago".

Since then, his bond with MS Dhoni has blossomed. Bashir has so much trust in Dhoni that he has travelled all the way to Manchester from Chicago to witness the marquee contest between India and Pakistan without buying tickets. The two teams will lock horns at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Recently, while talking to PTI, the 63-year-old, Bashir, who owns a restaurant in Chicago and is an American passport holder, said that he knows Dhoni will make sure that he is at the stadium when the first ball is bowled. "I arrived here yesterday and saw that people are ready to pay as much as 800-900 pounds for a ticket. A return ticket from Chicago costs the same. Thanks to Dhoni, I don't have to struggle for a match ticket."

Thanks to Dhoni's benevolence, Bashir supports the Men in Blue over the country of his birth. Dhoni is someone who is not easily accessible for even his teammates at times but has never disappointed Bashir.

"I don't call him as he is so busy. I keep in touch only through text messages. Long before I came here, Dhoni assured me of the ticket. He is a great human being. I can't think of anyone else doing what he has done for me since that 2011 game in Mohali," Bashir said.

India vs Pakistan is one such contest, for which Bashir gets to watch the exciting contest for free.

"Imagine I get the ticket for free when most would pay a fortune for it. I have got a surprise gift for him this time and I hope to give it to him later today," Bashir added.

Media reports say that, Bashir, who has overcome three heart attacks, carries as many 12 medicines when he is travelling. Before coming to the UK, he was in Saudi Arabia with his grandson during the holy month of Ramadan.