Dhoni’s wicket-keeping has left Kuldeep Yadav open-mouthed: The chinaman bowler is wonderstruck by the veteran wicket-keeper batsman.
Since his international debut in 2017, chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav has risen up the ranks at the highest level. His potential in accordance with his rare genre of bowling has worked well for Yadav in deceiving opposition batsmen.
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In 63 matches across formats for India, Yadav has dismissed 136 wickets at an average of 19.28, an economy rate of 4.63 and a strike rate of 29.4. Four five-wicket hauls in under a couple of years further speak highly about him.
Barring the six Test matches that he has played, Yadav’s major success has come in the limited-overs formats. There is no hiding to the fact that one of the major reasons behind the same is the presence of former India captain and current wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the wickets.
Having a veteran wicket-keeper who has captained India for nearly a decade has worked wonders for Yadav. Following frequent suggestions from a fine reader of the game provides Yadav with the required inputs at the given level.
Dhoni’s stumping dismissals aid Yadav
Other than the inputs, Yadav’s wickets column keeps on changing due to how swiftly Dhoni finds the batsmen short of their crease. While some of those stumping dismissals are practically unbelievable, Dhoni’s brilliance makes things happen for the 24-year old cricketer.
In a recent interview with The Indian Express, Yadav was wax lyrical about Dhoni and claimed him to be a ‘game-changer’. Considering himself to be lucky to playing alongside Dhoni, Yadav admitted that no one performs stumpings better than Dhoni.
“Mahi bhai has vast experience and keeps telling us the nitty-gritty of the game. He is like a game changer and we are lucky to have him in our team. But what I find most extraordinary about him is the speed in which he dislodges the stumps. It is simply unbelievable and honestly, I have never played with someone with such quick glovework,” Yadav said.
