Kiran More reveals an interesting tale that led to MS Dhoni’s selection in 2004

Kiran More has recently shared an interesting story that had led to the selection of MS Dhoni in the Indian Team back in 2014. More is the former Indian wicketkeeper and the one-time chairman of the selection committee.

Indian cricket fraternity believes that after MS Dhoni had entered Indian cricket in winter 2004, he had changed its dynamics. Before the arrival of the former wicketkeeper-batsman, Team India was dealing with the shortage of potent alternatives in the wicketkeeper-batsman department. The team was lacking players who were equally worthy both behind the stumps and in front.

India had made Rahul Dravid their temporary stumper in ODI before Dhoni’s emergence. They had played seven batsmen in the ODIs. In Test match cricket, the Indian team and selection committee played musical chairs for the prized spot.

Kiran More revealed that Rahul Dravid had already kept in 75 ODIs. However, the Indian team selectors wanted to give Dravid a break from his wicket-keeping duties as he was entering a new phase in his career. Hence, they picked a player like MS Dhoni, who could hit the ball from the first delivery.

Kiran More felt something special about the way Dhoni approached the game

In late 2004, MS Dhoni grabbed eyeballs in Kenya because of his feats in a tri-nation series for India A. The selector immediately roped him in the ODI team for the tour of Bangladesh. While he had a catastrophic start, it didn't take long for the dynamic wicketkeeper-batsman to grab the eyeballs.

In April 2005, he had smashed a massive score of 148 against Pakistan. A few months later, he proved himself again and scored 183 runs against Sri Lanka.

At that time, India had great players like Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh in their ODI team. However, Dhoni added a new dimension to the team through his inclusion.

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