'I was like, 'Who is this guy?'' - Aakash Chopra recalls how MS Dhoni's breathtaking shot stunned him

Dinesh Karthik debuted as a wicketkeeper-batter for India ahead of MS Dhoni. Though Dhoni went on to become the most prolific of the lot, his place in the team back then was subjected to the unavailability of Karthik. With the competition toughened, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra revealed that the Ranchi batter used to bowl to Karthik in the nets.

Dhoni had an unorthodox batting style and the same could be said for his wicketkeeping skills. But Karthik was the preferred choice in the playing XI, who brought conventionalism to the table. Chopra, who also shared the dressing room with the now-retired legend, recalling the old Dhoni, said he was "carefree but not careless".

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"I was like, 'Who is this guy?' He never used to bat in the nets. He, in fact, used to bowl to Dinesh Karthik, his competitor. He wasn't getting the opportunity to play, but he wanted to keep himself involved. I told him, 'Why are you bowling to Karthik? Why aren't you batting?” said Chopra on Raj Shamani’s YouTube channel.

"If he keeps batting and does all the scoring, when will you bat?' But he replied saying, 'No, I just want to bowl because I'm enjoying it.' He is just talented. In fact, he does not practice keeping that much, but his hands are faster than anyone in the world even now,” he further added

Dhoni was carefree because he was very confident: Aakash Chopra 

Chopra also recalled an instance where the right-handed batter had smashed Pakistan pacer, Iftikhar Anjum, who clicked 140 kmph, for a four-off reverse sweep. He also went onto add that in one of Dhoni’s early opportunities against Kenya, the latter batted like a "man possessed".

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“So that was a very different Dhoni - carefree but not careless. Carefree because he was very confident and happy with where he was, and not careless because when he got an opportunity, in Kenya and not in Zimbabwe, he batted like a man possessed," Chopra continued.

"Before him, I never saw a batter hit a reverse sweep against a bowler. There was a Pakistan bowler named Iftikhar Anjum, who used to bowl at 140+kmph and already played for his country...Dhoni hit him for a four at fine leg. The bowler changed his field, sent back the fine leg fielder and called in the one at third man, but Dhoni smashed the next ball for a six over the third man region," he added.