16 years ago on this day, MS Dhoni made his debut against Bangladesh. Later in September 2007, when MS Dhoni was appointed as the skipper for the first team.
MS Dhoni was appointed to lead team India for the inaugural edition of the World Cup T20 and the rest is history. MS Dhoni went on to become one of the greatest skippers to have ever played the game, having won all the ICC trophies. He led team India to the number 1 position in the world.
Recently, in an exclusive interview, former India selector Sanjay Jagdale revealed that the trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and Rahul Dravid had urged the selectors to not pick them for the shortest format, however, this led to MS Dhoni getting selected for the prestigious role. He revealed:
“This was 2007 and I was a selector. And I was with the Indian team in England, and we were having a one-day series. Dilip [Vengsarkar] was chairman…and we had a meeting for selecting the World Cup 2007 team,”
He added:
“So Sachin, Sourav and Rahul had told us, ‘Don’t consider us.’ So we picked a new team, a very young team. And I was in London, I had given my opinion, and Dhoni became captain for the first time,”
Sanjay Jagdale also revealed what MS Dhoni said to him after he was appointed as the skipper ahead of the big event. He recalled how MS Dhoni was so confident of winning the tournament. He revealed:
“So after the seventh one day was over, I still recollect in the dressing room I told MS, ‘This is a good team.’ And he said, ‘Sir, World Cup jeetke ayenge (Sir, we will come back with the World Cup).’ I was shocked just seeing the confidence,”
