Australian legend Matthew Hayden AM pays tribute to M.S. Dhoni

Exclusive conversation with India News

“And my message for MS is that he has been a great inspiration for me and for me to be involved with him and his family or anything where he would like me, I will be there always.” -- Matthew Hayden AM

When was the first time you saw MSD and in what format did you play against him for the first time and what was your first impression of him?

My impression of MS Dhoni has been consistent. He was a very natural and consistent leader. He was not someone who would sit on the corner of the dressing room and give orders. He very much left words secondary to actions and was a captain who led from the front. According to me, he goes down as one of the great leaders of the game. His leadership not only in terms of his own performance but from the kind of public pressure and scrutiny that happens on the stature of Indian cricketers. He always had a very calm, warm, and hands-on type approach.

MS became a test player in 2005 and the captain of the Indian test cricket team in 2009. Indian team became number one for the first time in test cricket rankings. How do you see him as a captain and also as a wicketkeeper in tests?

In tests MSD was a little bit like Adam Gilchrist — an impactful player. There are very few players like Adam Gilchrist who had that ability to take the game away from the opposition. MS is one amongst those. It seems like his background and growing up in a small country town in Ranchi helped him in fighting back his way out always. It was this kind of style and nature that overseas players feared the most about MS Dhoni and that he could produce some extraordinary innings. He was very sound and had lightning reflexes. I think a hallmark of MS was his instinctive reactions taking the bails off-spin when spin was operating. Ravichandran Ashwin and of course Harbhajan come to mind whom he played against. He just knew as a batsman that if you took things for granted getting out of your crease, you’d be stumped.

You have played against MS Dhoni in the one-day internationals. Can you share your memories of the ICC 2007 T-20 semi-finals in South Africa?

In many ways for the very first time, Australia carried an attitude that was not befitting of a national team prioritising T20 cricket. And it was on every level. You have to give credit to India where they are taking T20 cricket to such a high level. In many ways, the conception of IPL was based on the fantastic win Indian team had at the 2007 world cup. So, in these revitalisation of shorter versions of the game, MS Dhoni’s leadership was very important. In that semifinal match in 2007, the Indian side had some natural players of the shorter version of the game and MSD led from the front.

You have been his teammate in the Chennai Super Kings, so what was that story about the Mongoose (the bat)?

I love and enjoy innovation, T20 cricket was all about innovation. So, I was always looking for an edge around the innovation. For two years, I was practicing with this shorten bat. But, when it all comes down to it, you have to have the courage to try such innovations. Someone has to road test for the first time and in my game, with the amount of resources and practice I had, it was ready to go. But, not according to MS. He said to me that he will give me anything I want in life to not use Mongoose bat (chuckle).

You tried very hard to convince him that you have done a lot of practice with it. Did that change his mind?

There is a lot of innovation off and away from the field to play. But, the tradition of the game is such that it’s a very conservative game. So, with that in mind, it does not become a great deal of priority to look for innovation within the product. The moment bats got thicker and every form of player was jumping up and down saying it’s almost a cheating. Well, if you go to the gym and you are strong enough to wield an axe out in the middle, I think one should play on. That’s the natural advantage of working hard away from the field so that you can progress on the field. That’s the whole point of training. So, I always loved innovations, and sometimes MS and I had differences of opinion, but MS would always back me a hundred percent.

What message would you like to give to MS Dhoni and Indian team?

Here’s an argument which I have regularly with not just MS but also with India in general. That Australia by far has the best mangoes. So, this is a challenge to MS Dhoni to taste our Bowen mangoes, which are right here in Queensland and then decide who has better mangoes, India or Australia.

I am sure he will be re-wiring himself post-retirement and will have some great purpose postretirement. And my message for MS is that he has been a great inspiration for me and for me to be involved with him and his family or anything where he would like me, I will be there always.

Mr Matthew Hayden AM

By Ashutosh Misra, Kartik Pratap Singh and Agasyta Yeturi