Former India cricketer and selector in chief Kiran More feels former India wicket-keeper MS Dhoni made a difference for bowlers like Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav with his presence behind the stumps. He said the way Dhoni used to guide the spinners, it helped them a lot.
Kiran went on to say that Jadeja and Kuldeep aren't the same bowlers now, in a chat with Indian Women's coach WV Raman. Dhoni's words behind the stumps for spinners used to be a topic of discussion when he played.
‘‘During Dhoni’s time, he was constantly giving advice to bowlers on what length or line to bowl - albeit mostly in Hindi. Now that Dhoni is not there behind the wickets, India’s spinners are struggling - you will see Kuldeep (Yadav) or (Ravindra) Jadeja are no longer the same bowlers.
He has done it for 10-12 years with aplomb as Virat Kohli could afford to stand in the deep, but now he has to either stand at short extra cover or mid-off to talk to the bowlers,’’ More said.
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The 58-year-old called Dhoni the main reason behind teams looking for a wicket-keeper as leader of the side. More lauded Dhoni for his impact as a captain for the Indian cricket team.
‘‘It will be very difficult to find another Dhoni. If you see so many countries like Pakistan, England or South Africa trying with a wicketkeeper-batsman as captain, it’s because they have seen the benefit of having someone like him behind the stumps to read the game from the best position in the ground," he said in the podcast ‘Inside Out‘‘.
Kiran More said Dhoni's inclusion in the team was made to give ex-India captain Rahul Dravid relaxation from wicket-keeping.
"The scenario was something like this: Rahul Dravid had already kept in 75 One-day Internationals, so we were looking for a wicketkeeper-batsman who could whack the ball and we could give Rahul a respite. There was surely something special about the way he approached the game.
"We picked him for India A to Kenya, where he had a good tour and scored over 600 runs. We already had players like Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh but when Dhoni came, he was a complete package and took the Indian cricket by storm," More recalled.
(With 'Inside Out' Podcast Inputs)
