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Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has opened up on his decision to include MS Dhoni before promoting him to the Indian team as part of an ultra-aggressive model.
Sourav Ganguly was the man who truly backed MS Dhoni and pushed him quickly through the system, as he felt that players who are talented enough should be fast-tracked, and that playing with people above their level helps a player improve their skill set.
MS Dhoni went on to become one of India's most legendary cricketers, amassing 10,000+ runs in ODI cricket and nearly 15,000 international runs across all three formats and leading India to three ICC titles.
Sourav Ganguly explains his call on MS Dhoni
Ganguly revealed that former Indian selector Saba Karim had a major role in flagging MS Dhoni as a cricketer from Jharkhand. He also agreed that much before his debut, Dhoni was already noticed for his unique talent by the Indian selectors as well as the Indian skipper himself.
“Saba Karim told me, ‘He hits a lot of sixes.’ So we picked him straight from there for India A. He played his first match at Wankhede Stadium on my team. He made a hundred and was hitting sixes to the roof,” Ganguly said on the Raj Shamani podcast.
That performance appears to have removed hesitation. “We had to take him. Whoever is good has to be fast-tracked. You cannot leave him. If you keep cooking him slowly from behind, he will finish,” Ganguly said.
I had to see him before taking the final call. So, I stalled that decision for a few days - Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly replied on Raj Shamani's podcast, where he claimed that MS Dhoni had already caught attention well before his debut, but he had to stall the decision made by the then-national selector Saba Karim.
He also explained the cricketing logic behind that aggressive promotion model. “This is the system. If you play with people above your level, your game will rise. If you play below, your game will go down,” he said.
He also revealed that after Dhoni was selected for the team, he stalled the final call. Sourav Ganguly explained, “I had to see him before taking the final call. So, I stalled that decision for a few days.”
“We watch full matches. When Dhoni used to play, I had gone to Jamshedpur to watch him. He did not even know,” Ganguly concluded.
How did Sourav Ganguly's philosophy transform Indian cricket?
Sourav Ganguly, the former Indian skipper, is often called the greatest Indian captain ever to have brought generational talents into the Indian team. He reshaped Indian cricket with the inclusion of players like Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, and Yuvraj Singh.
Ganguly, who supported the evolution of cricket with fierce competition and backed the newcomers with some opportunities, would not think twice about handing the players chances and pushing them to big roles.
This was proved once again when Ganguly sent Dhoni ahead at no. 3 against one of the toughest oppositions in MS Dhoni, where he turned potential into certainty. With 15 fours and four sixes, Dhoni scored 148 off just 123 balls. This gave rise to one of the greatest wicketkeeper-batters in the history of Indian cricket.
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