On Dhoni's 44th birthday, AB de Villiers recalls: 'He was an intimidating player'

New Delhi, July 7 (IANS) On the 44th birthday of former India captain MS Dhoni, South Africa legend AB de Villiers recalled him as an 'intimidating player to play against' while adding that he had a 'fantastic career'.

Dhoni's international career highlight was his three coveted ICC titles - 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy - as captain along with other bilateral and continental achievements.

“It was very difficult to plan for MS Dhoni. When he was on song, nothing worked. Later on, we discovered that sometimes you could get away with wide deliveries with the seam, especially in the back end of his innings. We tried it. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.

"The guy’s class - not many game plans worked against him. I have a lot of respect for him and his achievements throughout his career. He was definitely an intimidating player to play against. What a fantastic career he had," De Villiers said on JioHotstar's ‘7 Shades of MS Dhoni’.

Former India selector and cricketer Kiran More recalled his first impression of Dhoni and said he saw a spark in the wicketkeeper-batter and felt something special about him.

"At that time, if you looked at our batting order, you had Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman - all these players. Yuvraj Singh was also there. But I felt we needed an aggressive player, who could come and hit fours and sixes, utilise the Powerplay, make runs in 15 overs, and also in the middle overs.

"We were looking for someone who could hit sixes and boundaries — that kind of aggressive player wasn’t visible. See, the top players were all of one mold. But MS Dhoni’s strength — that power-hitting — we were looking for a different kind of player like that, to balance the batting order.

"If you want to make 100 in 10 overs, you can. We gave many wicketkeepers chances, but the spark we saw in Dhoni — I felt this boy is something special, something different. We were taking chances. He was raw. From there, we picked him and gave him a chance," he said.

Former India batter Mohammad Kaif, speaking on the same show, looked back at Dhoni’s iconic breakthrough performance against Pakistan during the tour of India in 2005 and the surprise promotion up the batting order.

“Matches against Pakistan are always pressure matches - Ganguly thought, let’s promote MS Dhoni up the order. He might play a cameo. No one knew he would hit 140. No one in the dressing room knew. First surprise - he’s at number three. Then he starts hitting. He used to hit lofted shots - over point, over mid-off. We thought this guy can’t play a long innings. How wrong we were! As his innings progressed, he kept hitting - in the Powerplay, spinners, fast bowlers - everyone got hit.

"After the Powerplay, he still kept playing his shots, rotated strike, hit more. He knew he had to play fast, but also knew that a quickfire 30 wasn’t enough. He knew it was a do-or-die match. If he flopped at number 3, he wouldn’t get further chances because he had already gotten a few earlier. He didn’t play under pressure; he played his natural game," he said.

Dhoni was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame last month along with Hashim Amla, Matthew Hayden, Graeme Smith, Daniel Vettori, Sana Mir and Sarah Taylor.

Across formats, Dhoni accumulated 17,266 runs, effected 829 dismissals behind the stumps, and played 538 international matches — a testament to his consistency, fitness, and longevity.

"It is an honour to be named in the ICC Hall of Fame, which recognises the contributions of cricketers across generations and from all over the world. To have your name remembered alongside such all-time greats is a wonderful feeling. It is something that I will cherish forever," Dhoni had said.

Though Dhoni has retired from all forms of international cricket, but he is consistent with IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings, whom he led to five titles.

"Happy birthday to @msdhoni, a rare OG, who turned pressure into poetry with every move. You proved that greatness isn’t born, it’s built — one decision, one run, one quiet triumph at a time," Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin extended his warm greeting to Dhoni on his birthday.

--IANS

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