The ex-India cricketer shared the story of his first meeting with MS Dhoni and how he got to know Dhoni’s skills during his time as a selector for Bihar in the Ranji Trophy. Over a remarkable 15-year international career, Mahendra Singh Dhoni transformed from an unconventional wicket-keeper batsman into one of Indian cricket’s all-time greats.
He earned widespread acclaim as the most successful captain and gained international recognition as “Captain Cool.” Former India cricketer Syed Saba Karim shared a significant moment during a commentary, discussing MS Dhoni’s rise before his national team call-up.
Karim recollected his initial meeting with Dhoni and how he got to know Dhoni’s skillsets when he became a selector for Bihar in the Ranji Trophy.
The former India cricketer remembered the initial encounter with MS Dhoni
“My story is very interesting. The first time I saw MS Dhoni, it was his second year in the Ranji Trophy. He used to play for Bihar. I saw him batting and keeping, and I still remember while he was batting, he had that brilliance which we even saw later, playing big lofted shots to a spinner or a pace bowler,” he said.
“Even for wicket-keeping, the footwork that one should have was lacking a bit. We worked with him on this at that time, and he still remembered what he was taught then. When we used to chat, he used to speak about it. It was a turning point in MS’s career where he actually got going. In one-dayers, we started to let him open because his batting was so strong and he used to get quick runs,” Saba Karim mentioned his thoughts about JioCinema.
Saba Karim also mentioned how MS Dhoni’s impressive batting in his first India ‘A’ series convinced the national selectors, leading to his historic journey.
“The second turning point was the tri-series in Kenya between India ‘A’, Pakistan ‘A’, and Kenya. MS Dhoni got an opportunity to play because Dinesh Karthik was joining the national team. There, MS kept the wickets well and for batting don’t even ask! We played against Pak ‘A’ twice and he batted so well in the series,” he further added.
He again shared, “From there it was a turning point in his career and after that, his name was in the reckoning. I even remember I was in Calcutta at that time, and Sourav (Ganguly) was the captain.”
“I went to meet him and I told him there is this keeper who should come into the Indian team because he was batting so well and was such a safe keeper. Unfortunately, Sourav hadn’t seen MS play just before we toured Pakistan, and he wasn’t selected for that tour. But he was after that,” he concluded.
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