Exclusive: I Didn't Think That MS Dhoni Was Going To Go A Long Way, Says Tatenda Taibu

That MS Dhoni has gone on to become one of the greatest wicket-keeper batsmen that the world has ever seen is not even a point of argument.

During the course of the past fifteen years, MS Dhoni has shrugged off any inhibition that his skeptics had on his keeping skills during his initial years with sustained and constant improvement. And that includes former Zimbabwe wicket-keeper batsman and captain Tatenda Taibu.

I caught up with the former Zimbabwe wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu, who, in a exclusive chat with Cricket Addictor admitted that he did not think MS Dhoni will go a long way when he saw him for the first time.

Taibu went down memory lane and reminisced about the 2004 India A tour of Zimbabwe where both Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni came in as wicketkeeping options.

“To be very honest, I didn’t think that he [Dhoni] was going to go a long way. I remember watching him and Dinesh Karthik. And for me, Dinesh Karthik was more natural than Dhoni. In the series itself, Dinesh Karthik scored more runs than Dhoni” Tatenda Taibu told Cricket Addictor.

Also Read: MS Dhoni Is A True Leader, Says Mohit Sharma

MS Dhoni had a really good eye: Tatenda Taibu

Taibu said that his first impression was Dinesh Karthik would make it big as compared to Dhoni. But the former Zimbabwe captain also pointed out that he felt that Dhoni had a really good eye. And the next time he saw him (in Kenya during a tri-nation series), he had improved substantially.

“I remember thinking he had a really good eye, that you could pick up. He had a really brilliant eye. But just from my first impression, I thought that Dinesh Karthik was going to make it big than Dhoni. And, then the next series, Dhoni was amazing in Kenya. He scored three hundreds (2 hundred and 1 half-century) and that is what led him to be called to the national side” Taibu added.

That tri-series in Kenya really proved to be a turning point in MS Dhonis’ career. After having racked up 362 runs in 7 matches at an average of 72.40, Dhoni earned a national call-up for the tour of Bangladesh, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Also Read: MS Dhoni Has Trusted Me More Than West Indies Cricket Board: Dwayne Bravo