“That was not normal” - When Gautam Gambhir recalled watching MS Dhoni bat for the first time

Back in 2020, former Team India opener and current head coach Gautam Gambhir opened up on how he felt when he watched MS Dhoni bat for the first time in the nets. Gambhir stated that it "was not normal" for any Indian wicketkeeper batter to bat that way.

Gambhir and MS Dhoni have shared some memorable partnerships in the blue of India, most notably scoring 109 runs for the fourth wicket during the 2011 World Cup final.

When they faced each other in IPL or on the domestic Indian circuit, Gambhir has always been a fierce competitor. The southpaw led the Kolkata Knight Riders to victory in the IPL 2012 summit clash against the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings.

In the Cricket Connected show hosted by Star Sports, Gambhir rolled his mind back to the India A tour of Kenya, saying that he was taken by surprise when he watched him bat in the nets. He said:

“We went on an India A tour to Kenya and Zimbabwe. We played a triangular series against Pakistan A and Kenya. The way he (MS Dhoni) was hitting the ball, we all knew he was someone who could keep wickets and hit the ball that long and that far.

“That was not normal for any Indian wicketkeeper to do because before that, we had brilliant keepers, but never those hard-hitting players who could hit those 100-meter sixes. He was phenomenal and that’s the reason he’s achieved what he has.”

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MS Dhoni's numbers as a middle-order batter

MS Dhoni has been widely regarded as one of India's best middle-order batters. He opened the batting earlier where he scored 96 runs but has plied his trade for most part of his career in the middle order.

His best batting position has come at No. 5, where the CSK wicketkeeper batter has scored 3,169 runs and scored four out of his 10 centuries. However, MS Dhoni's career-best score of 183 came while batting at No. 3 against Sri Lanka back in 2005.