"The spark we saw, I felt this boy is something special...": Former India selector Kiran More recalls first impressions of Dhoni on his 44th birthday

India Gazette

a day ago

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 7 (ANI): As MS Dhoni turned 44 on Monday, tributes poured in from all corners of the cricketing world. Kiran More, who played a crucial role in identifying Dhoni's potential at the domestic level and backing him for the national team, recalled the star hitter's talent as he made his international debut in 2004.
More shared his first impression of the Ranchi-born cricketer, who would go on to become one of India's most iconic captains.
'At that time, if you looked at our batting order, you had Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman -- all these players. Yuvraj Singh was also there. But I felt we needed an aggressive player, who could come and hit fours and sixes, utilize the Powerplay, make runs in 15 overs, and also in the middle overs,' More told JioHotstar.
More explained that while India's top order was stacked with technically sound and dependable batters, the team lacked a power-hitter who could change the game in a few overs.
'We were looking for someone who could hit sixes and boundaries -- that kind of aggressive player wasn't visible. See, the top players were all of one mould. But MS Dhoni's strength -- that power-hitting -- we were looking for a different kind of player like that, to balance the batting order. If you want to make 100 in 10 overs, you can,' he noted.
'We gave many wicketkeepers chances, but the spark we saw in Dhoni -- I felt this boy is something special, something different. We were taking chances. He was raw. From there, we picked him and gave him a chance,' More added.
It was a gamble that would pay off in historic fashion. Dhoni led India to some of its greatest triumphs, including the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2011 ODI World Cup, and the 2013 Champions Trophy.
Rated highly for his calmness under pressure which would make most crumble helplessly, and his tactical excellence, Dhoni, since his international debut in 2004 till now, during these last few years of his career with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), has made a name for himself as one of India's most beloved sons, who has given back to his country and city of Ranchi, everything it could have asked him for.
With 17,266 international runs, 829 dismissals and 538 matches across formats for India, Dhoni is not only amongst the world's greatest players but also a revolutionary.
In 350 ODIs, he scored 10,773 runs at an average of 50.57. He scored 10 centuries and 73 fifties for India, with the best score of 183*. He is India's sixth-highest scorer in ODIs (with Sachin Tendulkar at the top with 18,426 runs). The fact that he managed to score 10,000-plus runs at an average of over 50 while coming down the order makes his statistics even more astonishing.
He led India in 200 ODI matches, winning 110, losing 74. Five games were tied, while 11 failed to produce a result. He has a winning percentage of 55.
Dhoni, known as Chennai Super Kings' 'Thala' (leader), played 98 T20Is for India, scoring 1,617 runs at an average of 37.60, at a strike rate of 126.13. He has two half-centuries in the format, with the best score of 56. He was the winning captain of India's ICC T20 WC 2007 winning team. 'Mahi' led India in 72 T20Is, winning 41, losing 28, one being tied and two failing to produce results. His win percentage is 56.94.
Coming to his long-format career, Dhoni played 90 matches, scoring 4,876 runs at an average of 38.09. He scored six centuries and 33 half-centuries, with the best score of 224. He is the 14th-highest scorer for India in Tests.
As a captain, he led India in 60 Test matches, out of which they won 27 matches, lost 18 and drew 15. With a win percentage of 45.00, he is one of India's most successful skippers across all eras. He led Team India to the number one ranking in the ICC Test Rankings. He is also the only Indian skipper to whitewash Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, doing so in the 2010-11 and 2012-13 series.
Dhoni is just as reputable in franchise cricket, being the sixth-highest run-getter in IPL history, with 5,439 runs in 278 matches at an average of 38.30, including 24 fifties, at a strike rate of over 137. He has secured five IPL titles and two Champions League T20 titles with CSK, making the franchise one of the most popular entities in the sporting world, largely on the basis of his own brand and name. Crowds follow and different fan clubs chant 'Dhoni' 'Dhoni' in unison when the batting legend makes even as much as an appearance inside his dressing room, gearing up for a possible chance at batting.
When Dhoni broke into the national team in 2004, nobody could have imagined the heights the then-23-year-old would go on to achieve as a wicketkeeper-batter. His quickfire stumping and catching abilities, massive sixes, and the trademark helicopter shot will no doubt stay fan favourites for generations to come. (ANI)