Last Updated:
MS Dhoni stopped wicketkeeping practice after eight years, reveals R Sridhar.
MS Dhoni reportedly stopped wicketkeeping practice after eight years of international cricket (Picture credit: Sportzpics)
Former India fielding coach R Sridhar has revealed that former India captain didn’t practice wicketkeeping after playing eight to nine years of international cricket, because the workload was immense while playing three formats and his fingers were giving up.
Though his wicketkeeping technique often strayed from convention, Dhoni went on to establish himself as one of the greatest wicketkeepers cricket has witnessed.
Dhoni’s lightning-quick stumpings, sharp instincts behind the stumps and brilliant game awareness cemented his reputation as one of cricket’s sharpest minds.
“MS Dhoni didn’t practice wicketkeeping after playing eight or nine years of international cricket. While he was growing up and while he was yet to make a mark in international cricket, let’s say before 2007, before 2005, he worked a lot on his wicketkeeping skills,” Sridhar said while speaking to Cricket.com.
“He (Dhoni) had a very good technique; he had a technique of his own. I wouldn’t call it unorthodox, but very effective,” Sridhar added.
The former India fielding coach noted that Dhoni recognised the need to manage his workload while playing across all three formats.
“He had practised a lot and he self-admittedly said that once he started playing three formats for India, the workload was so much that there was no need for him to practice more because his fingers were taking a beating, collecting those deliveries behind the stumps and throws and everything else,” Sridhar said.
“That is when he (Dhoni) very smartly decreased the workload as a wicketkeeper. Instead, he did some small reaction drills which kept him sharp and his gloves lightning fast,” Sridhar added.
Dhoni finished his illustrious international career with 829 dismissals behind the stumps, including 634 catches and a record 195 stumpings, a testament to his brilliance as one of the sharpest wicketkeepers cricket has seen.
At 44, Dhoni continues to defy age, finishing the last Indian Premier League season for the Chennai Super Kings with six catches and five stumpings, proving that he has not lost his sharpness.
Read More
