Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra recently shared an interesting story about the legendary MS Dhoni, before the wicketkeeper made his India debut. Aakash Chopra recalled that MS Dhoni would never hit the net and would instead bat with fellow wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik.
MS Dhoni led the Indian national cricket team to three ICC trophies under his captaincy. The veteran cricketer also won five titles for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Dhoni retired from international cricket on 15 August 2020 but continues to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
It was a Very Different MS Dhoni – Aakash Chopra
Speaking to Raj Shamani on his YouTube show, Aakash Chopra talked about MS Dhoni’s early cricketing days, describing him as “carefree but carefree”. Chopra said Dhoni performed impressively when given the chance in Kenya.
The former Indian pacer shared how Dhoni preferred Pakistan’s Iftikhar Anjum, who bowled at a speed of 140 kmph. Chopra said Dhoni hit a four and followed it up with a six after the bowler adjusted his pitch. He added that he had never seen a batter reverse sweep like Dhoni.
“So it was a very different Dhoni – carefree but not careless. Carefree because he was very confident and happy where he was and not careless because when he got the chance, he fought like an underdog, not in Zimbabwe, but in Kenya,” he said.
“Before that I had never seen an off-spinner bowl a reverse sweep. There was a Pakistani bowler called Iftikhar Anjum. He used to bowl at 140+km/h and was already playing for his country…Dhoni hit him for a four. The fine leg bowler fielder, sent back the fine-leg fielder and called for one at third man, but Dhoni hit the next ball for a six over the third-man region,” he said.
MS Dhoni is simply talented – Aakash Chopra
The commentator said that MS Dhoni rarely hit the net and instead bowled to his teammates. Chopra said that when Dhoni was questioned about not hitting the net, he replied that he was enjoying bowling. He added that Dhoni’s wicketkeeping skills were exceptional even without regular practice.
“I was like, ‘Who’s this guy?’ He used to bat against his rival Dinesh Karthik, but he wanted to hold back, so I said to him, ‘Bowl to Karthik, why don’t you bat?'” Chopra commented.
“If he keeps batting and scores all the goals, when will you bat?” But he said, “No, I just want to freak out because I’m enjoying it.” “He’s just talented, he doesn’t really practice that much, but his hands are still faster than anyone in the world.”
MS Dhoni made his international debut for India in December that year. He played his first ODI in 2004 against Bangladesh at Chattogram. He won a Test cap a year later and made his T20I debut the following year. This was the beginning of Dhoni’s brilliant career in international cricket.
Dhoni played 90 Tests, 350 ODIs and 98 T20Is for India. He scored 10,773 ODI runs at an average of 50.57 and a strike rate of 87.56 with 10 centuries. Dhoni scored 4,876 runs in Tests and 1,617 runs in T20Is. It should be noted that he was selected “Player of the Match” in the final match of the 2011 ODI World Cup.
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