His excellent glove-work from behind the stumps, the stellar ability to win matches with the bat in hand, or his most talked-about captaincy skills and on-field tactical acumen, former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is rarely talked about in the only remaining department of cricket, i.e., bowling.
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While he might have only one wicket to boast of in his international career, it did arrive on the very first over he had bowled in ODIs – against West Indies in 2009. Bowling his medium-pacers with the speed meter reading in the mid-120s, Dhoni could have added another couple of wickets in his international kitty had it not been for the DRS.
He had trapped former England batter Kevin Pietersen LBW during India’s tour of England in 2011, and former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene during Champions Trophy 2013. While the umpires on both the occasions had adjudged the batters out, the DRS came to their rescue.
When MS Dhoni Bowled in Ahmedabad Test With Suresh Raina As A Wicket-Keeper
Except for a couple of occasions during which Dhoni had the assistance of another specialist wicket-keeper in Dinesh Karthik, he had to rely on the services of specialist batters whenever he used to rarely bowl in international cricket.
Such a role was mostly performed by the likes of Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, VVS Laxman, and Suresh Raina.
Having always expressed pride in his affectionate bond with the legendary Indian and his Chennai Super Kings skipper, Raina would also always remember the fact that he was one of the few individuals who had an opportunity to keep wickets when Dhoni bowled for India.
Raina keeping while Thala bowls 👀 pic.twitter.com/eHs2SpNKDT
— Dhruv Joshi (@dhruvjoshi___25) June 3, 2023
The respect that he has for the man can be gauged from the fact that during a recent interaction with ‘Sports Tak’, he would exclaim that before playing for the country he would play for Dhoni.
The numbers are there to testify. Under him, the southpaw batter played 228 international matches from 2008-2016. He scored 6,228 runs with the help of 39 half-centuries and seven centuries, at an average of 34.98.
In the IPL, from seasons 2008-2021, the 36-year-old played a total of 173 matches under Thala‘s captaincy. He scored 4,657 runs at an average of 32.56 across these games, and lifted the trophy with him and CSK four times around during 2010, 2011, 2018, and 2021.
MS Dhoni Bowling Record In International Cricket
| Bowling | Matches | Innings | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Average | Econ. |
| Test | 90 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 67 | 0 | 4.18 | |
| ODI | 350 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 31 | 5.16 |
