Sachin Tendulkar shares why MS Dhoni never used to sit next to him in his early days

MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar shares alight moment during their playing days for India.

Sachin recollected the first time he saw Dhoni and also shared why he recommended his name for the captaincy in 2007.

The first impression

Sachin recalled the first time, he saw Dhoni was during the Bangladesh tour in 2003-04.

“First time I saw him was in Bangaldesh. In one of the match he played one or two shots at the end. The kind of sound I heard from his bat, I immediately turned towards Sourav (Ganguly), sitting next to me and said: “Dada iske balle se awwaz kuch alag aa raha hai “There is something different when he hits the ball),” Sachin Tendulkar said on Jio Insider.

“The big hitters have this specialty and when they connect it you will think it is going to the distance but it will travel 10 yards more. I saw that quality in his batting,” he added.

The shy MS Dhoni

Sachin recollected an incident when he first got to know why MS Dhoni never used to sit next to him in the plane.

“Few players told me, most of the time in flight his seat would be next to be but he will switch it with some other players,” laughed Sachin.

A young MS Dhoni with Sachin Tendulkar. (Express File)

“Kuch saal wo mere baaju mei baitha hi nahi (For few years, he never sat next to me). We started sitting next to each other latter. I didn’t knew that he was so shy and that’s why he used to switch his seats.”

The captaincy

Sachin Tendulkar also opened up on why he recommended MS Dhoni’s name for the captaincy when BCCI offered him the role back in 2007.

It was Sachin Tendulkar (right), who recommended MS Dhoni’s name for India’s captaincy in 2007. (Express File)

“The BCCI offered me captaincy in 2007, but my body was in terrible shape.

“My observation of MS Dhoni was very good. His mind is very stable, he’s calm, he’s instinctive, and makes the right decisions. I recommended him for the captaincy”.

Dhoni’s first outing in IPL 2024

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has stepped down as the captain of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) with Ruturaj Gaikwad named the new skipper ahead of the new IPL season. The defending champions has started the season with a thumping six wickets win over Royal Challengers Bangalore. Though CSK didn’t required Dhoni’s batting but the former captain still looked sharpe behind the wicket, he picked up two catches, ran out Anuj Rawat with an underarm throw and was very much active in the decision making.