Dhonis Legacy Crosses Nations After Pakistani Player’s Big Statement

ByAnupam Pandey,SportsCafe Editor

Today at 4:29 PM

MS Dhoni has been a global icon, as he still continues to inspire many fans. But no one expected that Dhoni could even inspire a Pakistani player to return to the game and represent his team in the T20 World Cup. This happened with the Pakistani bowler, Usman Tariq.

Usman Tariq has been all over the headlines over the last few weeks. Whether it is his bowling action or his wicket taking abilities, he has been able to gather the attention with his comeback. Tariq always wanted to represent the Pakistan cricket team but he even stepped away from the game for a while.

His comeback was unexpected, even to him, but he drew inspiration from MS Dhoni. It will be fair to say that Thala for a Reason has now extended beyond the national boundaries. Recently, Usman Tariq recalled how the biopic of MS Dhoni inspired him to get back to the game, as he now represents the Pakistani team in the T20 World Cup.

Tariq’s Untold Story

Everyone is well aware of MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, which was the biopic of Captain Cool. Only a few cricket biopic movies have been made till now, and this one came out as a massive success. This movie became the story of Usman Tariq also, as it motivated him to make a comeback to the game.

During an interview in Colombo, Tariq said, “I came back to cricket after watching the MS Dhoni movie. After watching that movie, I felt our stories were similar. I was doing a job and he was also doing a job (before taking cricket seriously). So I felt like here's a person who has created history. I am a simple human being, too. Perhaps I can adopt the same pathway but I would need to do a lot of hard work like all others have done. I came back to cricket just because of MS Dhoni.”

And it is true, the story of MS Dhoni also matches that of the legendary Indian captain, MS Dhoni. But there are a few twists and turns in his case. When Tariq was a child, his father passed away, leaving him as the sole breadwinner. Later in 2015, he had to leave the game and shift to Dubai to get a job.

Watching the biopic of MS Dhoni, where his role was played by Late Sushant Singh Rajput, Tariq got inspired. Tariq was working as a purchase coordinator in real estate in Dubai, and he found it similar to Dhoni's job in the railways. Despite his job, Dhoni trained himself hard to play for his team, and this is what motivated Tariq.

Tariq's Monumental International Start

Usman Tariq earned his maiden call up for the Pakistan cricket team a few months back in November. He was called to play for them right before the T20 World Cup, and he also participated in the series against Australia. He played the last T20I match of the series against Australia, and helped Pakistan to win the game.

Usman Tariq in T20Is:

Innings: 5
Overs: 18.4
Maidens: 1
Wickets: 12
Average: 9.25
Economy: 5.94
Four-wicket Hauls: 1

In that game, he was able to take 2 wickets and conceded just 16 runs in 2.4 overs. Following this, he started to receive regular opportunities for the team in the T20 World Cup 2026. Before the series against Australia, he had played just two games for the international team, which were against Zimbabwe and South Africa.

In the T20 World Cup, he has played the team's two games against the USA and India. The match against the USA helped him to take 2 wickets and he also remained economical for the team. While he was not able to take many wickets in the game against India, he finished with an economy of 6 runs in his 4 overs spell with a wicket.

Pakistan's Qualification on Cliffhanger

Pakistan is now having their qualification hanging like a thread for the Super Eight stages. All the remaining 7 spots for the next stage have been filled, and in Group A, only India has managed to reach the next stage. Now, Pakistan and the USA both stand in contention for the last spot in the Super Eight stages of the tournament.

Since the USA has now played all of its games, they will be depending on Pakistan's performance in their last game against Oman. If Pakistan loses their last group stage game, it would be the USA team which will reach the next stage. This is way too similar to what happened between these two teams in the last edition of the tournament.

But if Pakistan wins in this game, they will have more wins than the USA and eventually take the second spot. Even if the game is washed out, Pakistan will come out to have 5 points in total, as compared to 4 points of the USA. So, if Pakistan wants to make it to the Super Eight, they just don't have to lose the game against Oman.