Shahbaz Nadeem reveals MS Dhoni’s role in Jharkhand’s Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 win

The legendary MS Dhoni is consulted when it comes to the well-being of Jharkhand cricket, according to Shahbaz Nadeem, a former Indian cricket player and current joint secretary of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA).

When the Ishan Kishan-led squad defeated Haryana in the SMAT 2025 final to win the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 title, Jharkhand cricket gained notoriety.

Former cricket players Shahbaz Nadeem and Saurabh Tiwary were appointed joint secretary and secretary of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) earlier this year, ahead of the commencement of the season.

Ratan Kumar, who has coached Jharkhand's age-group cricket for the previous eight years, was appointed head coach by the JSCA, while Sunny Gupta was appointed bowling coach.

Both choices were made on the advice of legendary former India captain MS Dhoni, who is widely regarded as the most famous Jharkhand cricketer.

“He knows stats of all domestic Jharkhand players”- Shahbaz Nadeem on MS Dhoni

Shahbaz Nadeem claimed that Dhoni had closely monitored every Jharkhand player during the tournament and was aware of their figures and statistics, according to ESPNCricinfo. He said that the former Indian captain had even discussed the players' shortcomings with the state association.

“When we started the season, right from the appointment of the coaching staff, we have always taken his [Dhoni’s] advice and suggestions. And he also has a keen interest in the Jharkhand team. He wants them to do well. It feels good that such a big player is paying close attention to our team,” Nadeem told ESPNcricinfo. 

Nadeem added that MS Dhoni kept a close eye on Jharkhand cricket's performance in the most recent SMAT tournament and disclosed that Dhoni was familiar with every statistic and number of the team's domestic players.

“And I’ll tell you something, he follows every game very closely. He followed the entire [SMAT] tournament, noted all the strengths and weaknesses of the players and discussed with us. He knows the stats and numbers of each domestic player from Jharkhand. He is very interested in helping Jharkhand cricket grow,” he added.

Ten of Jharkhand's eleven tournament games were victories. Three previous champions from Delhi, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka were in the group they won; they defeated the latter with an almost incredible comeback victory.  

Kishan was the tournament's top run scorer, with 517 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 197.32. He was called up to the Indian squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup as a result of his performance.

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