I FIRST SAW Mahendra Singh Dhoni in 2004, in his ODI debut series in Bangladesh. Before that, people had spoken about him, but I had not seen him at all. There was a general buzz about him—that he can hit big in domestic cricket. But whether he could hit the same way in international cricket was yet to be seen.
I remember a couple of shots he played against Bangladesh. Sourav Ganguly was sitting next to me. I told Sourav: “Iss player ke bat swing mein kuch alag hai (there is something different about his bat swing), there is something special.” Dhoni had not scored many runs (12), but by one shot he hit, you could make out that he had the ability; one could judge from the sound of the bat hitting the ball. I had also seen him in the nets. To hit well in the nets and to do so in the match are quite different tasks. But, he did it.
For me, his biggest impact on Indian cricket is that he has inspired children to pick up the bat, take up the game and be like him. If you see every generation, there have been players who have motivated youngsters to do what they did. His name will be on that list. That is his contribution to Indian cricket.
My most special moment with him was, of course, the 2011 World Cup. If you ask 10 people which shot they remember from that World Cup, all 10 would say the final-winning six by Dhoni. At the time, Viru (Sehwag) and I were the only two in the team who were sitting inside the dressing room and praying. We saw that shot on the television. We heard an uproar, and that is when we rushed out and saw the crowd making noise. It was such an incredible atmosphere out there.
But if you ask me, there is another Dhoni shot that I consider unforgettable. That shot I saw from close quarters; I was at the non-striker’s end. It was a shot he played off Shoaib Akhtar at Faisalabad in Pakistan. Shoaib bowled a bouncer and Dhoni pulled it for a six. I thought it was a special shot.
Hit man: Yuvraj Singh reacts as Dhoni hits the winning six against Sri Lanka in the 2011 ICC World Cup final in Mumbai | AFP
Another point that is brought up while talking about Dhoni is his captaincy. From 1989, when Krishnamachari Srikkanth was my first captain, to Dhoni, who was my last, each captain had been different. There were some captains who had strong body language, some were calm, some were hyper and some would speak a lot. Each one was different. For me, Dhoni was calm, he would think well and he had the ability to soak up pressure.
We had a number of conversations on the ground. I would stand in the slips, and we would discuss whether the ball was swinging and how the pitch was behaving. They were good conversations. From the time he first came into the Indian team in 2004, I could see how he had developed as a cricketer. Off the field, however, if I had to single out any one conversation we had, it would be in Australia during the triangular series, which we won for the first time in 2007-08. We had won the first final in Sydney and had travelled to Brisbane for the second final. I was really struggling; I had injuries that made it difficult for me to perform. That time, he came to me and said, “Paaji you rest in this match. You can play the third final, if needed.” I told him I will play this one, and we will see if we need to play a third one.
As for his wicket-keeping, he had his own style. When we talk of a number of players, we talk of batting or bowling technique. I do not understand much of wicket-keeping technique, but to me a good wicket-keeper is someone who does not drop many chances. And that is exactly what I would say about Dhoni. What matters eventually is how many you collect or miss; he rarely missed. When it came to runouts and stumpings, he was very aware and excellent.
I do not believe in statements like he has underachieved in Test cricket. His contribution to Test cricket has been good. He has had such a magnificent career, we should celebrate it. The rear-view mirror of a car is always clearer than the windscreen. I am sure he loved every format and loved cricket, but I think his strength is his presence of mind, being in that moment and being able to take a call. That is what all good captains have to do.
-As told to Neeru Bhatia