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Saba Karim reveals when he first saw MS Dhoni's brilliance while playing for Bihar
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a cricketing legend, made an incredible journey from an unorthodox wicket-keeper batsman to one of Indian cricket's all-time greats.
Known as 'Captain Cool', he earned a reputation as the most successful captain in the country's history and remains a revered figure in international cricket.
However, every great story has its humble beginnings. Former India cricketer Syed Saba Karim shared a fascinating insight during a commentary box session, recalling the early days of Dhoni's emergence before his national team call-up. Karim vividly described their first meeting and how he closely observed Dhoni's exceptional skillsets while serving as a selector for Bihar in the Ranji Trophy.
“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 actually got going. In one-dayers, we started to let him open because his batting was so strong and he used to get quick runs,” said Saba Karim on JioCinema.
Karim then discussed Dhoni’s first series for India ‘A’ where his batting performances convinced the national team selectors to finally give him a chance. The rest, as they say, is history.
“The second turning point was the tri-series in Kenya between India ‘A’, Pakistan ‘A’, and Kenya. MS Dhoni got an opportunity to play because Dinesh Karthik was joining the national team. There, MS kept the wickets well and for batting don’t even ask! We played against Pak ‘A’ twice and he batted so well in the series.”
He added, “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.”