Mahendra Singh Dhoni gifts Air Chief Marshal PV Naik a bat at the latter’s residence in New Delhi on Monday. (PTI)

Ranchi, April 6: On Saturday, 1.2 billion Indians seemed indebted to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. By Monday, it already seems the captain may soon be indebted to all 1.2 billion, going by the rate at which the MSD Benefactors’ Club is growing.

“Mentors” are surfacing everywhere, demanding their 15 minutes in the limelight.

“I’m hurt and feeling low because no one’s talking about my contribution (to the World Cup win),” said Keshav Ranjan Banerjee, 52, sports teacher at Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamali, where Dhoni studied.

Banerjee, who claims to have weaned Dhoni from football to cricket, will write to the Jharkhand government. “When Maharashtra can felicitate Ramakant Achrekar (Sachin Tendulkar’s first coach), why can’t Jharkhand do it for Dhoni’s mentors?” he said.

Coach Chanchal Bhattacharjee, though, believes he is the one. “Assess Dhoni’s achievements as a cricketer in school till 1999 and his career graph while he was with me till 2004. Need I say more?”

Is he expecting a government reward? “Why not? It will feel good. Every human being has three wishes — to be on the chair of power, to fly on a plane and to become famous.”

Bhattacharjee insists he isn’t looking for a cash prize — a gesture like being given a shawl at a public function would do. But deputy chief minister-cum-sports minister Sudesh Mahto, a friend of Dhoni’s, said any credit should go only to the cricketer’s family.

Bhattacharjee, too, was ready to share the credit with Dhoni’s friend Paramjeet Singh and brother-in-law Gautam Gupta.

“Dhoni broke eight bats during his Ranji career. A good bat costs at least Rs 6,000. Had Paramjeet not financed his kits, it would have been a full stop for his career,” the coach suggested. “Gautam, too, stood by him like a rock.”

A former Central Coalfields Limited director (personnel), Deval Sahay, has no patience with such talk. Hadn’t Dhoni publicly thanked him for the company’s support, during a tournament in Ranchi a year ago?

“He categorically said that whatever he had learnt about the game — discipline, punctuality, etc — it all happened under me,” Sahay said. “But he is largely a self-made man. We gave him the opportunity and he performed. I was (part of the) support staff.”

Sahay says he formed a cricket team at the CCL in 1998 and drafted Dhoni because “I was convinced he would scale the heights. I persuaded the management to give Dhoni a stipend of Rs 2,100, Rs 300 more than the captain”.

Sahay said he didn’t hope for anything in return. “What more can I ask for? Dhoni openly acknowledged my efforts; I am content.”

Some, though, seem to still feel indebted to Dhoni and his team. Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik said he would seek government permission to offer the India skipper and Tendulkar a ride in his force’s best fighter jet, the Su-30MKI.

The Jharkhand government plans to award Dhoni a plot to build a cricket academy and is considering an honorary doctorate.

A Ranchi salon Dhoni used to visit announced free haircuts on Sunday, an offer 10 people took. It’s not known if anyone from the Benefactors’ Club was among them.