Former India pacer RP Singh recalled his friendship with MS Dhoni and how it has remained intact despite the different paths their cricket career took. Singh, who made his debut for Indian in 2005, failed to live up to his early promise and although he was an integral part of the 2007 T20I World Cup-winning team, his international career went into the shadows post the humiliation in England, 2011. Singh, however, developed a strong bond with MS Dhoni during his playing days and, according to him, the friendship has remained intact still now. The left-arm pacer was talking to former Indian opening batsman and co-commentator Aakash Chopra when he revealed his everlasting friendship with MS Dhoni. MS Dhoni or Yuvraj Singh Who Is Better Finisher? Jasprit Bumrah Has the Answer, or Not.

“We used to spend time together, then he became captain and his graph kept going up and mine down. But our friendship is intact and we still talk and roam around together. In cricketing matters we have different opinions,” Singh said during his Instagram live session with Chopra. Singh retired from the game in 2018 and has since taken to focus on commentary and coaching. Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers Pick MS Dhoni As Captain of Combined India-South Africa ODI XI.

During his time at the international circuit, Singh played in 14 Test matches, 58 ODIs and 10 Twenty20 internationals and took 40, 69 and 15 wickets respectively he was also part of the Deccan Chargers team that lifted the 2009 Indian Premier League title and was among the top performers in the opening five editions of the IPL. He, however, has no answer to why his international experience was only limited to 82 matches despite consistent domestic performances.

“I was at the top, performance-wise but neither could I save my place in Tests or ODIs,” said the 34-year-old Singh. “I played IPL and I guess I was one of the highest wicket-taker in 3 or 4 seasons but didn’t get to play matches may because the captain did not have trust in me or maybe my performance had really downgraded. The selectors never gave me that answer even after I asked and they just told me ‘keep working hard your time will come’”, he added.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 27, 2020 01:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).