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'It's a fluke... If I'm not wicketkeeping, I'm useless': MS Dhoni hilariously compares his dives to 'rice sack falling from truck'

MS Dhoni considers himself as a safe wicketkeeper who goes for a catch with both hands. He called his one-handed stunner from last year as a fluke.

Sports Tak

• Mon • 24 Mar 2025

Chennai Super Kings' MS Dhoni falls on the ground while fielding the ball during the Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Mumbai Indians at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on March 23, 2025.

Highlights:

MS Dhoni has no plans of retiring from IPL so far.

Dhoni pulled off a stunning stumping against Mumbai Indians.

Dhoni stayed unbeaten in the run chase against MI.

A 43-year-old MS Dhoni on March 23 turned back the clock when he pulled off a lightning fast stumping to bamboozle Mumbai Indians' (MI) Suryakumar Yadav. Before Dhoni took the field in the 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Dhoni was show a clip of his acrobatic catch while diving. in JioHotstar's MS Dhoni Experience show. The catch was hailed by many but Dhoni said that it was a 'fluke' and he feels safe when he goes for a catch with two hands.

"It's a fluke. If you closely monitor it, it feels like a sack of rice falling from the back of a truck. The whole thing is if we can reach with two hands, I've always been a fan of trying to take catches with two hands, and it helps. So it always feels good if you can contribute like this. But I'm not somebody who you would see dive around a lot or to take those, you know, great catches, one-handed great catches. I'm quite a safekeeper. I like to keep it that," Dhoni said while speaking to the broadcasters.

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Dhoni on why keeping wickets is important to him

Dhoni was retained as an uncapped player by CSK as changes to IPL retention rules were made. Dhoni said that if he is not wicketkeeping, he is useless because that's how he is able to read the game properly.

"It's a challenge, you know, and that's what makes it interesting and also the fact that if I'm not wicketkeeping, I think I'm useless on the field. Because that's where I read the game in the best possible manner. I have to be really close to the game, for the angles, to see how the bowler is bowling, how the wicket is behaving. What is the change.

"In the first six overs with the new ball, the wicket behaves differently. After that, has it changed or it remains the same, all these things, when I'm right behind the stump, I'm in a better position to judge what really is happening and then to convey to the captain as to this is what is happening, whether it's a bad delivery that has gone for a 6 or it's a good delivery that the batsman has hit for a 6. I can differentiate between the two when I'm behind the stumps," said the five-time IPL-winning captain.

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In the clash against MI, Dhoni walked out to bat at no.8 in the run chase when Ravindra Jadeja was run out in the penultimate over. However, Dhoni played two dot balls and opener Rachin Ravindra finished the run chase with a six. Dhoni will be next in action when CSK take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at home on March 28.