New Delhi: Maybe there’s a reason behind why Mahendra Singh Dhoni still chooses to feature in the IPL, despite being 43. Although he has left international cricket behind, due to his immense contribution to the game, cricket isn’t opting to leave the Ranchi boy. Something similar to this was on display on Sunday when Dhoni stumped Suryakumar Yadav with the help of his lightning-quick reflexes.
Dhoni’s stumping skills are a deeply discussed topic, and he forces everyone to take that up again due to his heroics with the gloves. Speaking generally, no keeper is ever given such attention, with the cricket world taking them for granted, but not MSD. It’s like he was born to be a wicketkeeper-batter. The stumping of Suryakumar Yadav took even less time than the blink of an eye.
This left his former CSK teammate and ex-Australia cricketer Matthew Hayden gushing about his abilities despite not being in his prime. After delivering five IPL trophies to CSK, he is featuring only as a player, but doesn’t stay away from the limelight for long. Not because of his will, but because of his game, which speaks volumes about there’s a lot of cricket left in the veteran.
𝙁𝙖𝙨𝙩. 𝙁𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧. 𝙈𝙎 𝘿𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙞 🫡
📹 Watch #CSK legend’s jaw-dropping reflexes behind the stumps 🔥
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It was a Noor Ahmad delivery that Suryakumar couldn’t read and went a bit ahead of the crease. Guess what? That “bit” is what MSD only needed and bam! The bails were whipped off in an instant. “He (Dhoni) was on fire,” Hayden said on ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Time Out. As per Star Sports, the stumping was executed in just 0.12 seconds.
“The stumping was just superb, just such quick timing, great hands, good vision. He’s still got it,” he added. The stumping came at a crucial point, breaking the 51-run stand and eventually restricting Mumbai Indians to 155/9. CSK chased it down with four wickets to spare and five balls still left.
What makes Dhoni so quick?
Many cricket pundits claim that the absence of “receiving” the ball during a stumping procedure is what makes Dhoni faster than the other keepers. Not just the Sunday instance, but Dhoni has been renowned as one of the best wicket-keepers of all time in cricket history, even during his international days. According to the analysts, Dhoni has removed the time of receiving the ball as his hand moves directly from up to down.
What they try to say is that Dhoni grabs the balls instantly as it misses the batter, and while the other keepers have a reaction time towards it, receiving the ball comfortably and then moving ahead to remove the bails, Dhoni doesn’t practice this at all. He rather stays firm on his position, and it’s just his hands working.
During the CSK vs MI IPL 2025 encounter, MS Dhoni stumped MI’s stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav in a lightning-fast speed which left everyone in awe of his keeping skills, even at the ripe age of 43. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
