One of the best fielders to have played for the Indian cricket team, Mohammed Kaif recently dove into a throwback conversation about the time he first heard of Mahendra Singh Dhoni but didn’t think how great he was going to be as a captain.

On the Star Sports show Cricket Connected, he opened up about the time Dhoni made his debut in the match Kaif was crowned the ‘Man of the Match’ for. It also happened to be the game Dhoni got wrapped up for a duck on a run-out after facing just one delivery.

Dhoni made his debut on 23rd december 2004 against Bangladesh. He got run-out in the first ball, miscommunication with Kaif. #16YearsOfIconicDhoni // DHONIsm FOREVER
pic.twitter.com/YpxUBW5TTO

December 23, 2004, exactly 16 years ago today, it was the day the Ranchi-born made a rather disappointing first show in the Indian jersey against Bangladesh while Kaif smashed 80 off 111 to help the Men in Blue seal the deal with an eight-wicket margin.

“The first time I noticed Dhoni, I was the captain of the Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy. And he was playing for East Zone, not as a captain, a wicketkeeper. He had also toured for India A,” Kaif said while recalling the time he first saw Dhoni in action.

2004 - Debut
2005 - Highest Score 183*
2006 - ODI No1 Ranking
2007 - T20 WC
2008 - Khel Ratna
2009 - ODI NO.1
2010 - ODI NO.1
2011 - World Cup
2012 - Lt Colonel
2013 - Champions Trophy
2018 - Padma Bhushan
2019 - Last Match
2020 - Retired#16YearsOfIconicDhoni pic.twitter.com/rqZKIEQf3i

“I had a friend in Lucknow who told me ‘Kaif, there is a player. Watch him. He has long hair and I’ve never seen anyone hit sixes like he does. All of us who were playing at that time - I, Zaheer, Harbhajan, Sehwag - none of us thought that he could captain India the way he did, who would lift Indian cricket to such heights,” Kaif added.

Regardless of the unfortunate debut and the doubts in the minds of the senior cricketers, Dhoni went on to establish himself as one of the Top Two captains in the history of Indian cricket. His legacy involves winning the 2011 World Cup, the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy for the country alongside the countless times he finished the games with a six to bring home the victory before retiring on August 15, 2020.

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