Chennai Super Kings star MS Dhoni’s exploits behind the stumps are unquestionable given what he has achieved over his glittering international career before calling it quits earlier this year.
The 39-year-old veteran wicket-keeper showed it on several occasion that his ability to read the game is unmatchable; placing him as a cricketing genius with his unorthodox ways.
However, many might question if he would have been the same successful Dhoni if he wasn’t behind the stump or just another fielder in the team.
Former Indian cricketer and current Delhi Capitals assistant coach Mohammed Kaif has no doubt that the former captain has been equally good in fielding without the gloves too. The 39-year-old former cricketer, who is known to be among best fielders Indian team ever saw, shared a throwback video in which Dhoni and he can be seen combining to effect a run out in a match against South Africa.
The video showed Dhoni dropping his gloves and run to the cover region to pick up the ball and throw it at the striker's end. Kaif, who was fielding at the short leg, quickly ran behind the stumps to collect Dhoni’s throw to ran out the batsman in a sublime effort.
Sharing the video on his Twitter handle, Kaif captioned: "I guess MSD would have made a good fielder no matter where he stood on the field...And maybe, I wouldn't have been a bad wicketkeeper either."
Meanwhile, Irfan Pathan expressed his surprise when he saw MS Dhoni keeping wickets in the Chennai Super Kings training session in Dubai as the side gears up for opening IPL 2020 match against Mumbai Indians on September 19.
The 35-year-old retired pacer recalled that he never saw the wicket-keeping icon keep wickets during any training session before. Pathan pointed out this could be because Dhoni is back to cricket after a long period as he took a sabbatical after last year’s World Cup debacle.
"We have seen a new visual where we have seen MS Dhoni keeping the wickets. This never happens, this is something new for me because I have played cricket for so many years with him, whether it is for the Indian team or in the league with CSK, I have never seen him keeping wickets.
"So this is because he has not played cricket for a long time. I guess there was some leg-spinner bowling, so he may be trying to check the new bowlers but it is good to see that he is keeping during practice," Pathan said.
