Former Indian selector Saba Karim has revealed his first instance with the legendary Indian skipper MS Dhoni, where he met the former Indian captain during his Ranji Trophy stint with Bihar. The 42-year-old is unarguably one of the best captains in the history of cricket.
The former Indian skipper is unarguably one of the greatest Indian captains in the history of cricket winning three ICC titles for India.
In IPL, he has been captaining the Chennai franchise since the inaugural edition (2008) and led the team to become one of the most successful franchises winning five IPL titles in the cash-rich league.
Speaking on Jiocinema, Saba Karim revealed an interesting incident involving him and former Indian skipper MS Dhoni during the Ranji Trophy and said that he had brilliance in batting even during his younger days and asserted that he had few things to work on wicket-keeping skills and added that they let him open the innings for Bihar as he can score quick runs at the top of the order.
“My story is very interesting. The first time I saw MS Dhoni, it was his second year in the Ranji Trophy. He used to play for Bihar. I saw him batting and keeping, and I still remember while he was batting, he had that brilliance which we even saw later, playing big lofted shots to a spinner or a pace bowler.
“Even for wicket-keeping, the footwork that one should have was lacking a bit. We worked with him on this at that time, and he still remembered what he was taught then.
“When we used to chat, he used to speak about it. It was a turning point in MS’s career where he got going. In one-dayers, we started to let him open because his batting was so strong and he used to get quick runs,” Saba Karim said.
MS Dhoni is the only captain to lift all ICC trophies so far ODI and T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy, and is known for his shrewd cricketing brain in Indian cricket.
Unfortunately, Sourav Hadn’t Seen MS Dhoni Play Just Before We Toured Pakistan – Saba Karim
Saba Karim also revealed the reason MS Dhoni was not selected for India’s tour of Pakistan in 2004, as Sourav Ganguly haven’t watched him play the game and said that it was after the completion of the series, the Indian skipper had the opportunity to watch Indian wicket-keeper play and draft him to the Indian setup.
“From there it was a turning point in his career and after that, his name was in the reckoning. I even remember I was in Calcutta at that time, and Sourav (Ganguly) was the captain.
“I went to meet him and I told him there is this keeper who should come into the Indian team because he was batting so well and was such a safe keeper.
Unfortunately, Sourav hadn’t seen MS play just before we toured Pakistan, and he wasn’t selected for that tour. But he was after that,” Saba Karim added.
Ms Dhoni has been stalwart in Indian cricket over the years producing some memorable performances for the Indian team in all three formats and leading them. The 42-year-old is also the most successful captain in the cash-rich league winning 5 championship titles and is likely to lead the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2023.