Wicket-keeping is one of the hardest jobs to do for a cricketer. It requires utmost concentration and focus, the two things which separates a brilliant wicket-keeper from the rest.
In India, where the ball usually starts turning from Day 1, the job of a gloveman becomes tougher. Acknowledging the same, Ravichandran Ashwin shared the names of top 3 wicket-keepers he has played with.
The off-spinner has stepped onto the field with MS Dhoni, Wriddhiman Saha and Dinesh Karthik but chose the Ranchi-born wicket-keeper as the best. Rating Dhoni above the other two, R Ashwin opined that the former India captain made tough stumpings look very easy.
“Dhoni, Saha, and DK – in that order, you can take the answer. It is very difficult to separate them behind the stumps. I’ve played a lot of cricket with Dinesh in Tamil Nadu. But if I’ve to pick one.. I think some really really tough dismissals have been made look easy just the man behind the stumps (MS Dhoni),” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Referring to a Test match against England held in Chennai, Ashwin recalled Dhoni’s brilliance behind the stumps as he stumped Ed Cowan on a delivery that did not turn and had an extra bounce.
“There’s this one dismissal of Ed Cowan in Chennai on Day 1 where he steps out and gets stump. The ball didn’t turn but it bounced, and MS Dhoni collected the ball. I’ve hardly seen him miss anything, be it stumping or run-out catches. He’s one of the most exceptional keepers against spin. Saha is not far behind either,” R Ashwin shared.