In the early 2000s, the Indian team was in search of a wicket-keeper who had the expertise in both the department. Several wicket-keepers were given a chance, but none could grab the opportunity. Then Mahendra Singh Dhoni burst on the international scene and donned the wicket-keeping gloves for his country thereafter.
Recently, Aakash Chopra revealed an interesting incident involving the former Indian skipper. Chopra once advised MS Dhoni to not bowl to his competitor Dinesh Karthik in the nets. Narrating the incident to Dinesh Karthik, in a video uploaded on Aakash Chopra’s Youtube Channel, Chopra said,
“I want to take you back to the 2004 A tour of Kenya and Zimbabwe. MS Dhoni was also part of that tour and I distinctly remember Dhoni bowling to you in the nets. Because he was my roommate, I told Dhoni ‘don’t bowl to him (Karthik), he is your competition. And if you want to bowl, at least bat. What are you doing? He will play for India, he is almost there, sometimes you need to also play’. But Dhoni said, ‘no, no, I want to bowl.”
MS Dhoni was a once-in-a-generation cricketer: Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik also spoke about the former Indian skipper MS Dhoni. He stated that he knew that the wicket-keeping spot was closed, as MS Dhoni took the country by storm. He added that MS was a “once-in-a-generation player.”
“When Dhoni came in, he took the complete country by storm and I knew that door was closed. Keeper-batsman is always a decade-long job. Syed Kirmani was there, then Kiran More. Dhoni was a once-in-a-generation kind of cricketer. Take Ian Healy or Adam Gilchrist, if you are a good keeper, you are there for 10-12 years,” said Dinesh Karthik.