Former Australian opener Mathew Hayden who used a mongoose bat in the third edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) revealed that the then Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni had asked him to not use it.
Hayden was the opening batsman for the Chennai Super Kings (eventual winners in 2010) and had created a new sensation when he first introduced a bat that had a longer handle, and smaller hitting surface to give leverage to the bottom hand.
The bat which was eye candy for all cricketing fans witnessed Hayden's greatest T20 knock when he smashed 93 runs in just 43 balls to take CSK over the line against Delhi in 2010.
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"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.
Hayden said he had assured Dhoni when the former Indian skipper was skeptical about the use of the bat.
"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.
"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," he added.
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Hayden scored 346 runs with an average of 21.62 in IPL 2010. CSK had clinched the third edition of IPL after defeating Mumbai Indians in the final.
