MS Dhoni Reveals The Secret Behind His Quick Stumping Skills; Credits Mentor Kiran More
Published - 23 Sep 2022, 06:39 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:13 AM
Former India skipper MS Dhoni is heralded for his lightning-fast glovework behind the stumps as he is for his captaincy. The India veteran has set a benchmark with his ability to be precise behind the wickets.
Dhoni would hardly give any extra seconds to a batter to return to the crease as he stumped them by whipping the bails off in a flash. Interestingly, the Chennai Super Kings star had issues with his glovework at the start of his career.
However, with his unorthodox technique, Dhoni won plenty of fans for the wicketkeeping aspect of his game.
MS Dhoni practised with tennis balls during his early years
Speaking about his wicketkeeping skills, the 41-year-old himself explained at a recent Livfast event that the freedom his mentor Kiran More gave during the early stages of his international career helped him evolve.
“I also started playing tennis ball cricket. When you keep wickets while playing with a tennis ball, it’s important to have soft hands. When you have hard hands, the ball lips out. So we all started from there,” Dhoni said.
“As far as wicketkeeping with the leather ball is concerned, I got a lot of help. Initially, when Kiran More was a selector, he used to be around the team. He helped me a lot with my keeping, with my drills. What I really liked was, he understood my wicketkeeping technique was unique and that I was not copybook style,” he added.
MS Dhoni decided to go against the odds
The dynamic wicketkeeper cut down on microseconds by going against convention. The wicketkeeper did not pull his hand back while collecting the ball but kept bringing his hand forward and snatched it. The unconventional but effective technique made him pull off some amazingly fast stumpings over the years.
Explaining the method, Dhoni said, “Over the last 50 years, keepers have been doing the same. It was basic learning for me. They say in cricket that you give, i.e. when the ball is coming at you, you are supposed to receive the ball. I said ‘why do you need to receive the ball?”
