Siddarth Kaul on Dhoni: “He is an encyclopedia of cricket”

Siddarth Kaul on Dhoni: Rookie Indian bowler Siddarth Kaul was wax lyrical about MS Dhoni, claiming him to be an encyclopedia of cricket.

Former India captain and current wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni is receiving highly mixed responses from all around the cricketing circle. The degree of remarks on Dhoni have of late ranged from him being dropped from the team to him being a guiding force for all the players.

If on one hand, people are criticizing him for being a restriction in the middle-order, others are claiming him to be the greatest wicket-keeper batsman of all time.

After Yuzvendra Chahal heavily praising Dhoni the other day, this time it is Siddarth Kaul who has come forward to state how suggestions from Dhoni have helped him become a better bowler.

Kaul was called up to Dubai to bowl in the nets ahead of the Asia Cup. Upon the arrival of the full squad, he made his way back to India to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy, India’s premier 50-over competition. After playing one match and with just over 48 hours of being in India, Kaul boarded the plane back to Dubai to replace injured Shardul Thakur.

Speaking in an interview to Hindustan Times, Kaul was quoted, “I have modelled my bowling on Bhuvneshwar. It was great to have him, Dhoni and Rohit (Sharma) during nets. Those jittery times got over in England itself and I was really keen on learning about the conditions in Dubai. Dhoni is an encyclopedia of cricket. I was just following his instructions and applying them in the nets.”

On being asked about the difficult weather conditions in Dubai, Kaul said, “One has to stay hydrated in the hot conditions in order to bowl to the best of ability. I hope to make use of that small stint in the nets during the upcoming matches.”

If India win the first two matches of the Super Four stage against Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively, Kaul is likely to be considered for the third match against Afghanistan.