How long did it take to convince Ganguly of Dhoni's wicketkeeping skills? Kiran More recalls

MS Dhoni happens to be the greatest wicketkeeper-batsman to ever play for India. However, he did have to grind to get into Team India under Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy. Ex-national selector Kiran More has recalled how Dada was convinced of Mahi’s keeping skills.

Team Newsable

Vadodara, First Published Jun 2, 2021, 5:06 PM IST

Former Indian skipper MS Dhoni remains the most legendary wicketkeeper-batsman to ever play for Team India. Although he scaled great success with each passing game ever since he broke into the Indian team, it wasn’t elementary for Mahi to get into the team, especially under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly.

Although Dhoni made his debut in 2004, he had to go through the Duleep Trophy in the 2003-04 season. During this, Sourav Ganguly, captaining the East Zone, wanted to field Deep Dasgupta against North Zone.

However, the then-chairman of selectors, Kiran More, wanted Ganguly to let Dhoni get the chance. Although Ganguly was not keen on it, More has revealed that it took around ten days for him to convince the former of Dhoni’s attributes behind the wickets.

ALSO WATCH: MS Dhoni pampering his horse 'Chetak' goes viral; celebrities, netizens love it

How long did it take to convince Ganguly of Dhoni's wicketkeeping skills? Kiran More recalls-ayh

“We were looking for a wicket-keeper batsman. At that time, the format was changing, and we were looking for a power-hitter, someone who can come at No 6 or 7 and get us quick 40-50 runs. Rahul Dravid played 75 ODI matches as a wicket-keeper, and he played the 2003 World Cup as well. So, we were desperate for a wicket-keeper,” More was quoted as saying on a YouTube show, The Curtly and Karishma.

“My colleague saw him first, then I went and saw him. I especially flew down and saw him get 130 runs out of the team’s total of 170. He smashed everyone. We wanted him to play in the finals as a wicket-keeper. That’s when we had a lot of debate with Sourav Ganguly and Deep Dasgupta – who played for India then and who was from Calcutta. So, it took about ten days to convince Sourav and his selector to ask Deep Dasgupta to not keep wickets and to let MS Dhoni keep wickets,” he added.

Besides, Dhoni also shined with the bat in the game, smashing a 47-ball 60 and attacked against Ashish Nehra, Amit Bhandari, Sarandeep Singh and Gagandeep Singh. Following this performance, Ganguly was seemingly impressed as Dhoni was selected for the Kenya tri-series. He finished as the highest run-scorer and was handed his maiden India call-up during the Bangladesh ODIs.

NOTE: Asianet News humbly requests everyone to wear masks, sanitise, maintain social distancing and get vaccinated as soon as eligible. Together we can and will break the chain #ANCares #IndiaFightsCorona

Last Updated Jun 2, 2021, 5:05 PM IST

Download App:

How long did it take to convince Ganguly of Dhoni's wicketkeeping skills? Kiran More recalls

RELATED STORIES

Recent Stories

Recent Videos