'Hadn't seen him play but...'- Former RCB star recalls first meeting with MS Dhoni

The former wicket-keeper batter of the Indian side and the current mentor of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Dinesh Karthik, has recalled the first experience of meeting MS Dhoni, the former World Cup-winning leader of the Blue Brigade. The latter broke into the scene in the early 2000s and became one of the crucial members of the national side.

MS Dhoni ended as the sixth leading run-getter of the Blue Brigade with 17092 runs in 523 innings at an average of under 45 and a strike rate of 78.78, with the help of 15 centuries and 108 half-centuries at the best score of 224 runs. Karthik noted how he didn’t know Dhoni at the start of his career.

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“I hadn’t seen MS Dhoni play much, but during that A series in Kenya, everyone was talking about one player, because he brought something new. The power with which he hit the ball was something people said they hadn’t seen before. Some were even comparing him to Gary Sobers, known for those massive sixes.” Karthik expressed during an interaction on India Today.

Dinesh Karthik looks back at his first experience of meeting MS Dhoni for India

The former Tamil Nadu batter revealed that when Rahul Dravid decided to give away the wicket-keeping gloves, the management needed someone to do the job, and that was when Dhoni stepped ahead and showed his magic.

“MS Dhoni had a very different technique, but he was hitting the ball as hard as anyone people had ever witnessed. That was the buzz at the time - Back then, India was using Rahul Dravid as the wicketkeeper, but Dravid had reached a point where he said, ‘Boss, I just want to focus on my batting. My body’s going through a lot trying to keep wickets.’ So the team started looking for a proper wicketkeeper.” The former KKR captain addressed.

“I stepped in briefly like a guest appearance in a movie, but the lead role was always meant for Dhoni, and when he arrived, he didn’t just impress India, he completely swept everyone off their feet. Very soon, he was making waves in international cricket as well.” Dinesh Karthik informed.