MS Dhoni in his childhood and for CSK (Source:@AaravMsd_07/X.com)
MS Dhoni is the legend in world cricket, and there are very few people who will argue against it. However, as a child, MS Dhoni's first love was not cricket, and he used to be a football enthusiast. He was studying in Jawahar Vidhya Mandir, where young Mahendra Singh Dhoni used to be the goalkeeper for his school.
Keshav Banerjee Turned An Amateur Football Enthusiast Into His Wicketkeeper
However, a precarious situation and the faith of his school teacher changed everything. Keshav Ranjan Banerjee was the cricket coach at his school and was in search of a wicketkeeper for a school team when the original player backed out to concentrate on his studies.
At that time, Keshav Banerjee spotted young MS Dhoni stopping balls as a goalkeeper quite swiftly and decided to call him for cricket trials the next day. Dhoni accepted the offer and came to the trials, where he impressed the coach with his catching. Thus, he was drafted into the school team and was given regular practice as a wicketkeeper to improve his skills.
The school-going MS Dhoni, though, was keen to bat rather than work on his wicketkeeping, but he hardly got any chance early on. However, whenever the opportunity came, he sneaked into the nets to try out his luck in batting.
When the matches started, MS Dhoni initially batted in the lower middle order. He first grabbed the limelight when he scored a match-winning cameo and hit some lusty blows. In the next match, little Mahendra asked his coach whether he should open the innings. The Banerjee sir denied initially and told him that he would look at the proposal in the next match.
Dhoni Determination To Open Changed His Fate
Dhoni, though, was adamant and told the coach, What is the use of opening against a weak team? So, Keshav Banerjee hesitantly agreed, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni first got the opportunity to open. He did not waste it and went on to smash the bowlers all over the park, creating a buzz in the whole school that a new star is here.
Dhoni did not look back from thereon and kept growing in stature with his raw power-hitting, taking him to heights in different age group cricket. Soon, MS Dhoni became one of the most sought-after cricketers of the undivided Bihar, and after some struggle, finally got his chance at the international level in 2004.
The power show made him popular initially, and as the years went on, Dhoni's stature kept rising. He is now a retired man, but is arguably the finest white-ball captain India have ever seen and one of the best finishers in world cricket.
.jpg?type=mq "Oldest And Youngest Players Of Asia Cup 2025!")
