MS Dhoni begged me not to use the ‘Mongoose’ bat, reveals Matthew Hayden

IPL 2010 was witness to the mother of all inventions on a cricket field, the ‘Mongoose Bat’, which was used by Australia’s Matthew Hayden during the start of the tournament. A bat tailor-made for the game’s shortest format, the Mongoose had a remarkably long handle and a very short, bottom-heavy blade and this, incidentally, caught the eyes of the viewers, who were left astounded by the appearance of the willow. 

However, despite its fancy outlook, one person who did not buy the idea, according to Hayden, was CSK skipper MS Dhoni. Hayden, in a chat with the franchise, revealed how Dhoni pleaded with him not to use the bat as the former was simply not sure what it would bring to the table.

"I will (MS Dhoni) give you anything you want in life, to not use this bat. Please do not use this bat," recalled Hayden during a chat with the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise CSK, reported TOI.

The Aussie further revealed how he had to convince Dhoni that he was well-versed with the usage of the willow and all its technicalities.

"I am using this bat for practice for about a year and a half and when it hits the middle of the bat it goes 20 meters further," he said.

For once, Dhoni’s calculation turned out to be completely wrong as in the very first game that the Australian used the bat, he ended up scoring a match-winning 93 against Delhi Daredevils, striking seven monstrous sixes en route. Though eventually doing away with the bat after a few games, Hayden expressed his love for the willow and stated that it was a progressive move which was a step in the right direction.

"The mongoose product was a step in the right direction and it was a brave and courageous decision to use it and for a couple of times when I used I just loved it.”

Hayden played 32 games for the Super Kings, scoring 1107 runs, including winning the orange cap in 2009, and was part of the CSK side that won its first-ever IPL title in 2010.