This guy can hit the ball well: Sachin Tendulkar's first impression of MS Dhoni
Sachin Tendulkar recalled his first impression on seeing MS Dhoni bat. He remembers saying to Sourav Ganguly that the youngster certainly has got the gift of hitting the ball hard. The Little Master was impressed by the strong bat swing and the transfer of weight at the time of impact.
Talking to Hindustan Times, Sachin Tendulkar recalled the first time he watched MS Dhoni bat, during India's tour of Bangladesh in 2004, which was also the latter's first international assignment.
The wicketkeeper-batsman did not score a lot of runs in the series, but a couple of shots that he hit, especially one boundary that to long-off, made the Little Master realize that there was something special in this young man.
“Sourav (Ganguly) and I had heard that he could hit the ball well. But could he do that in international cricket? That was our question. On that tour, he didn’t score too many runs, but in the couple of shots he hit, including one boundary he hit to long-off, Dada and I thought that we have spotted something special. I told him, 'Dada, this guy has got the gift of hitting the ball hard',” Tendulkar said.
The 47-year-old added that the sound that the wicket-keeper batsman’s bat produced was exceptional. It reminded him of first seeing Yuvraj Singh bat.
“When you have a hard-hitting player like him, the sound from the bat is different. I go a lot by that sound. I heard that sound and told Dada, this is different. I head the same thing when Yuvraj (Singh) batted,”
The man with a hundred international centuries also noted that the firm base of MS Dhoni’s stance and the strength of his lower body was critical to the power that he generated. It produced a lot of core strength and stability while attacking the ball.
“Power comes from the transfer of weight, the core strength. Lots of people say power comes from the bat swing—and yes, bat swing has to be good, but the lower body has to be strong to generate power. Dhoni had a firm base and having that was the foundation,” Tendulkar said.
MS Dhoni’s batting changed with time: Sachin Tendulkar
Tendulkar analyzed how MS Dhoni’s batting had changed over the years. He was quite aggressive as a young batsman, but with time and change of balance in the team, he played with a controlled-aggression.
“Early on when he got into the team, there was a lot of aggression and then slowly, as the balance of the team changed, he played with controlled-aggression. Each stage of your innings you play different roles and he played them beautifully,” Tendulkar added.
According to Tendulkar, the leading players of every generation in Indian cricket have inspired generations to come. MS Dhoni has done this in his style, his manner, and that is where he fits in the history of Indian cricket.