'I Bowled A Bouncer At Him And He...': Irfan Pathan Reveals His First Impression Of MS Dhoni

Former India allrounder Irfan Pathan has recalled his first impression of MS Dhoni, the batsman. The former India skipper brought down curtains on his illustrious international career on Saturday, thus bringing an end to his 16-year association with Team India.

Irfan Pathan was already an integral part of Team India when Dhoni made his ODI debut in 2004 against Bangladesh. It was a debut to forget for MS Dhoni as he was run out for a duck. Irfan Pathan, on the other hand, had scored a quickfire 21 off just 11 balls in addition to picking one wicket in the game. His knock proved crucial as India beat Bangladesh by 11 runs.

And while that game was the first time Irfan Pathan and Dhoni shared the field in international cricket, it was not the first time both were on the field together. Recalling his first impression of Dhoni, Irfan Pathan recalled a practice game when he played against his former teammate who was yet to make his international debut.

Recalling the game, the former allrounder, who retired from the game earlier this year, revealed how he bowled a bouncer to Dhoni and the latter smashed it despite a fielder standing at deep square leg.

“My first memory of Dhoni obviously was playing in Bangladesh, when he got run out on zero. But even before that, I played a practice game against him when he just came fresh from India A tour,” Irfan Pathan told CricketNext.

“We were playing in Bangalore and I bowled a bouncer to him and he smashed that bouncer even though I had a deep square leg. It went only for one run but I realised that this guy has power, that’s my first memory of Mahendra Singh Dhoni,” he added.

Best moment with Dhoni

Irfan Pathan further opened up on his best moment with MS Dhoni and revealed that winning the T20 World Cup in 2007 was the one. Irfan Pathan was the Man of the Match in the final as India beat Pakistan in the thrilling game to win the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup.

“The best moment with him was obviously winning the T20 World Cup together. On and off the field, we had so many great memories. We had quite a few meals together. There used to be a time before 2007 when we hardly missed a meal, we always used to eat together,” he said.

Also Read: ‘You have my support’: Joginder Sharma Recalls MS Dhoni’s Words Before Bowling The Final Over In 2007 T20 World Cup Final

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