"MS Dhoni Didn't Know I Went To Jamshedpur": Sourav Ganguly Reveals Unheard Scouting Story
MS Dhoni, who played for India from 2004 to 2019, turned out to be one of the greatest players in cricket history.
- Sourav Ganguly recalled the time when he spotted MS Dhoni and fast-tracked the player into the national team
- "Saba Karim told me, 'He hits a lot of sixes.' So we picked him for India A, " Ganguly said
- "He played his first match at Wankhede Stadium in my team. He made hundred and was hitting sixes to the roof"
MS Dhoni, who played for India from 2004 to 2019, turned out to be one of the greatest players in cricket history. He became a household name early in his career for his fiery batting style and some impressive wicketkeeping. A huge decisive moment came in the career of Dhoni when the player was handed India's T20I captaincy and led the country to the title in the very first T20 World Cup. Four years later, India won the ODI World Cup as well under his leadership.
Ex-India captain Sourav Ganguly recalled the time when he spotted Dhoni and fast-tracked the player into the national team.
"We watch full matches. When Dhoni used to play, I had gone to Jamshedpur to watch him. He did not even know," Ganguly said in Raj Shamani's podcast.
Ganguly revealed that Dhoni was picked for India A, and while playing for his team, the wicketkeeper-batter smashed massive sixes, with some of them even going to the roof.
"Saba Karim told me, 'He hits a lot of sixes.' So we picked him straight from there for India A. He played his first match at Wankhede Stadium in my team. He made a hundred and was hitting sixes to the roof," Ganguly said.
"We had to take him. Whoever is good has to be fast-tracked. You cannot leave him. If you keep cooking him slowly from behind, he will finish," he added.
Dhoni went on to play 538 matches across formats during his 16-year-long India career.
He played 350 One-Day Internationals, 90 Tests, and 98 T20Is. His last appearance in an international game came in July 2019, when India lost to New Zealand in the semi-final of the ODI World Cup.
On August 15, 2020, Dhoni took to Instagram to announce his retirement from international cricket. "Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout.from 1929 hrs consider me as Retired," Dhoni posted in a video on Instagram featuring snippets from his career.
Dhoni is one of the most successful captains in the history of the game and the only skipper to have won all three major ICC white-ball trophies - T20 World Cup (2007), 50-over World Cup (2011), and Champions Trophy (2013).
MS Dhoni