New Delhi: Former India captain MS Dhoni may be one of the best Indian cricketers to play for the country, but he was an average student in school. Dhoni, who led India to two World Cups, admitted that his attendance started to drop after he started playing cricket. Till he was in class 7th, he was an ‘average’ student before he fell in love with the sport.

The incident happened at the inauguration of the Superkings academy at MS Dhoni Global School in Hosur where one student asked him about his student life. Dhoni said his father thought he wouldn’t pass the Board exams.

MS Dhoni recalls his school exams

“I was very happy. My father thought that I am not passing [10th board exam]. He was like, it’s gone, I will have to repeat, but he was very happy that I passed.”

“Does sport qualify as a subject? [on his favorite subject] I was an average student till I started playing cricket in Class seven, so from that point onwards, my attendance slightly started to go down. But other than that, I was a good student. [In the] tenth, I got 66 percent or something; In 12th, I got 56 or 57 percent,” he added.

“My attendance was very low because I was playing throughout. So, it was tough for me, but I was an average student. In fact, in Class 10 boards, there were chapters I had no clue about. So, I had no idea what to write if a question came from that particular chapter. That how bad it was, the 41-year-old concluded.

After Chennai and Salem, Super Kings Academy is all set to grow its branches with the inauguration of its next cricket facility at Hosur. Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni inaugurated the Super Kings Academy at the MS Dhoni Global School, Hosur on Monday.

Visiting school is like Time Machine – MS Dhoni

“Whenever I go to any school, it’s like a time machine…I straight away go back to the time I spent at my school. I always believe it’s one of the best times you can have. There are studies, games…but the time that you spend at school never comes back. You always have fond memories. You make friends over here that will stay with you for a very long time,” Dhoni said.

The 41-year-old is all set to return to IPL in 2023 where he will once again lead the Chennai Superkings. He led them to the title in 2010, 2011, 2018, and 2021.