'That was not normal for any Indian wicketkeeper' - Gautam Gambhir describes his first impression of MS Dhoni

Former Indian opening batsman Gautam Gambhir shared the first impression he had of the former Indian captain MS Dhoni. Gambhir and Dhoni were the pillars of the Indian batting line-up in the late 2000s and early 2010s and were involved in a lot of memorable partnerships to take India to the finishing line.

Both Gambhir and Dhoni were a part of the India A squad for a triangular series among India, Pakistan, and Kenya in 2004. That was the first time that the two batsmen had interacted with each other and had bonded over their game. With that series, Dhoni had announced himself in the cricket fraternity as he had smashed two centuries along with a fifty and was rightly adjudged the Player of the Series award as India clinched the triangular series.

Speaking about MS’ batting in that series, Gambhir reckoned that seeing the way Dhoni was hitting the ball all over the park, the players knew that he wasn’t any normal wicketkeeper-batsman and will have a long international career. The veteran also credited Dhoni’s ability to hit big strokes and finishing the games for being the reason behind his achievements.

Gautam Gambhir heaps praise on MS Dhoni

“We went on an India A tour to Kenya and Zimbabwe. We played a triangular series against Pakistan A and Kenya. The way he was hitting the ball we all knew he was someone who could keep wicket and hit the ball that long and that far,” Gambhir said on the Cricket Connected Show on Star Sports.

“That was not normal for any Indian wicketkeeper to do because before that we had brilliant keepers, but never those hard-hitting players who could hit those 100-meter sixes. He was phenomenal and that’s the reason he’s achieved what he has,” he added.

The only captain to have won all the ICC trophies be it the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 World Cup, or 2013 Champions Trophy, MS Dhoni had announced his retirement from all formats of international cricket on August 15, 2020. In an international career that spanned from 2004 to 2019, MS Dhoni scored more than 17,000 international runs and has more than 800 dismissals in international cricket under his name.