Former Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu has said that Mahendra Singh Dhoni has a different and odd technique when it comes to wicket-keeping, though the first time he saw the India ex-skipper, he thought Dinesh Karthik was more natural than him.
“The first time I saw Dhoni, he had come with the (India) A side. (Dinesh) Karthik came with Dhoni, they were the two keepers. I thought Karthik was more natural than Dhoni. And still, in keeping, he is more natural, even in batting he is more natural,” Taibu said in the segment called ‘Inside Out With Baggs’ on SportsRuler YouTube channel, after he was asked to comment on Dhoni’s stumping skills.
Taibu said he remembered watching Dhoni and thinking he has very good hand-eye coordination.
“Now, the way he (Dhoni) keeps, his hands are not always together like you always have the little fingers together. When he catches, his hands are not always like that. But he always manages to catch the ball and whip the bails in a flash with a very different technique... very different and odd technique,” Taibu said.
The former Zimbabwe cricketer also praised Dhoni for his batting, but said that it is his great hand-eye coordination that is praiseworthy. He also lauded Dhoni’s mental toughness, which makes him distinct among his contemporaries.
“I don’t think it’s only his hand-eye coordination but probably his mental toughness. Normally if you don’t look the part, so to speak, it’s easy for coaches to just put you aside. But Dhoni backs that up with statistics,” Taibu said.
Taibu went on to talk about former Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist, calling him a natural batsman, but not a natural keeper.
“Gilchrist was a natural batsman and not a natural wicket-keeper. He always used to put more time on his keeping than his batting because his batting was very natural. Hitting the ball was quite easy for him,” Taibu added.
