‘Faster than pickpocket’ MS Dhoni second to none, claims Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri heaped praise on the now-retired MS Dhoni and stated that the Jharkhand keeper was second to none and claimed that the veteran has changed cricket forever. Shastri also used an interesting analogy to describe Dhoni’s keeping and claimed that the latter is ‘faster than any pickpocket’.
It was about 20 hours ago that India’s most successful captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, broke the hearts of cricket fans across the planet by announcing his international retirement out of the blue. Dhoni, 39, who is currently gearing up to participate in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in UAE, announced his retirement through Instagram at ‘19:29 hours’ on Saturday, and tributes have continued to pour in ever since for the Jharkhand man, who is one of the most celebrated figures in the country.
And in the wake of Dhoni’s unexpected announcement, team India’s head coach Ravi Shastri paid tribute to the legendary wicket-keeper in his own witty style. Shastri, who was on the mic when Dhoni hit ‘the’ six off Kulasekara to hand the Men in Blue the World Cup title in 2011, labelled the 39-year-old as a revolutionary who is second to none. Shastri also, hilariously, expressed his admiration for Dhoni’s exquisite keeping skills by claiming that the Jharkhand man was, at times, faster than a pickpocket.
"This man is second to none. And coming from where he did he changed cricket for all times to come. And his beauty is he did it in all formats," Shastri told India Today.
"For me what stood out was his stumpings and his run outs. He had such fast hands that he was at times faster than any pickpocket. He was (as a wicket-keeper, not natural but) effective as hell. Look at the impact he had...The batsman wouldn't even realise that Dhoni had taken the bails off and that's something that added to his aura.”
Shastri might not have delivered trophies since taking over as head coach, but that was not the case with Dhoni, who made a habit of winning trophies as captain - in both international cricket and IPL. The Mumbaikar expressed his awe over Dhoni’s accolades and accomplishments and attested that the wicket-keeper needs to be considered amongst the greatest to have ever played the sport of cricket.
“T20 - he has won a World Cup and multiple IPL titles. 50 overs - he has won a World Cup. Test cricket- he has taken India to the number one position in the world. Played 90 Test matches. And he always took life as it came. From his days in Kharagpur to his days as an Indian cricketer he was always in the moment. And in retirement also he has moved on. As I said he is second to none.
"In any list of cricket's greatest, not greats but the greatest, you have to include this man.”
Despite having announced his international retirement, Dhoni is gearing himself up to play in IPL 2020 and is currently with the Chennai Super Kings camp in Chennai, where the franchise’s players have been practising ahead of flying out to the UAE.