Published: Jan 02, 2015, 06:31 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 02, 2015, 06:52 PM (IST)
Jan 2, 2015
Former India player Kiran More initially was not feeling too confident about MS Dhoni captaining the side in all three formats. More was part of the national selection committee, who first selected Dhoni in 2004.
“Frankly, I didn’t think Dhoni would cope with leading India in all three formats, but he proved me wrong. All I can say is that his career has been unbelievable,” More told mid-day. More remembers the time when he along with Syed Kirmani, the head of the committee back then had watched Dhoni bat in the 2003-04 domestic season but didn’t see him in a wicket-keeper’s role.
“North Zone and East Zone were playing the Duleep Trophy final at Mohali [March 2004]. We requested our East Zone representative Pranab Roy to have Dhoni in the side as wicketkeeper instead of Deep Dasgupta, who mind you, had played for India. It was not easy thing to do and all credit to Pranab for letting Dhoni keep wicket. We then picked him in the India ‘A’ team for a triangular series in Kenya where he scored two hundreds against Pakistan (in the space of three days). And of course, he impressed us in the 2004 Challenger Series in Mumbai as well,” recalled More.
“Being a wicketkeeper myself and having led Baroda in the Ranji Trophy, I knew exactly how captaincy would affect my wicketkeeping, so I had reason to be pessimistic when Dhoni was asked to lead in all formats,” added More
More praised Dhoni for having worked so hard on his wicket-keeping. “I was worried about his wicketkeeping but then I realised he had his own style and he worked hard to iron out the chinks. At times, we used to discuss wicketkeeping. His hand positioning ended up being superb,” said More.
More said that the panel was looking for someone who could relieve Rahul Dravid of his wicket-keeping duties as it wasn’t ideal. “We looked at other teams. Australia had Adam Gilchrist, South Africa had Mark Boucher and we wanted someone similar for India. We saw someone special, gave him a chance and he sealed his place. Dhoni was a smart cricketer from the start. He would read the game well and would sense an opportunity to thrive on quickly,” said the former chief selector.
Speaking of his captaincy he said, “He had his own style and stuck to it. I don’t think he tried to copy the methods of other captains. He was calm himself and he spread that calmness in his team. And importantly, he trusted his forces. The facts are there for all to see… he led some of the biggest names in Indian cricket and he earned their respect. This is something very creditable. I use the word unbelievable again because that’s what Mahendra Singh Dhoni is,” concluded More.
