His graph went up & mine went down, but friendship is intact: Former India pacer on MS Dhoni

Former India paceman RP Singh had a great start to his international career and was even part of the team that won the 2007 ICC World T20. The left-arm paceman though failed to fulfil the early promise he showed, although he continued to perform well in the domestic circuit.

During his playing days, he developed a strong friendship with Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the two share a bond even now. Singh, who has taken to commentary and coaching after hanging his boots, spoke about his equation with Dhoni during a conversation with former India opener and cricket pundit Aakash Chopra.

“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.”

He played 14 Tests, 58 ODIs and 10 T20Is for India and was also a stand out performer in the Indian Premier League (IPL), but an opportunity to revive his international career never came, something which the paceman still doesn’t have an answer to.

“I was at the top, performance wise but neither could I save my place in Tests or ODIs. 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 may be 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 said.