Former India cricketer and head coach Ravi Shastri has compared MS Dhoni’s lightning-quick hands behind the stumps with a pickpocket. Dhoni was recently honoured for his invaluable contribution to Indian cricket as he got inducted in the ICC Hall of Fame on Monday, June 9.
The former India captain is widely known for his swift glove work as a wicketkeeper, having inflicted several sharp stumpings in his career. Recently, Shastri made a hilarious comparison of Dhoni’s stumping with a pickpocket.
“He has hands faster than a pickpocket. If you’re ever in India, going for a big game, especially in Ahmedabad, you don’t want MS behind you; watch that back. The wallet will disappear,” Ravi Shastri said during the ICC ceremony.
Furthermore, Shastri also commented on the adulation the legendary captain gets across the country.
“He gets out for zero is the same; he wins the World Cup is the same; he gets a hundred the same, and two hundred the same. There is absolutely, you know, no difference,” he added.
Dhoni holds the record for most stumpings inflicted in international cricket, having found batters short of their crease 195 times in his illustrious career. He’s the third most successful wicketkeeper in the history of the game, having 829 dismissals to his name.
Dhoni revolutionised the role of a wicketkeeper batter in India with his valuable contributions with the bat whenever the team required. After Dhoni, wicketkeeping alone didn’t guarantee a place in the team, and one had to be regular with the bat as well.
He made his international debut on 23rd December during an ODI against Bangladesh and got run out on his very first delivery. However, he didn’t let the setback affect him much as Dhoni went on to smash a breathtaking 148 in his fifth game against Pakistan in Visakhapatnam.
From there onwards, there was no looking back for the boy from Ranchi who sealed his place in the team due to his tremendous exploits across all three formats. Dhoni was also handed over the leadership of the team in no time and took Indian cricket to unprecedented heights under his captaincy tenure.
He led a young team to a title triumph in the ICC T20 World Cup in 2007 and also ended the nation’s 28-year-long wait for an ODI World Cup with a remarkable innings of 91* (79) in the final against Sri Lanka in 2011. Under Dhoni’s reign, India were also crowned Champions Trophy winners in 2013, making him the first and only captain to win all ICC trophies.
