When I first saw MS Dhoni, I thought Dinesh Karthik was a more natural keeper:Taibu

PTI, Jun 9, 2020, 11:22 AM IST

Chennai: Former Zimbabwe cricket captain Tatenda Taibu feels that Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s mental toughness separated him from his contemporaries.

“The first time I saw Dhoni if I’m to be honest…he had come with the India A side. I thought Karthik was more natural than Dhoni. And still, in keeping, he is more natural…even in batting he is more natural,” Taibu said on Fan Play-Sports Ruler ‘Inside Out With Baggs’ on YouTube channel.

Taibu then went on to explain Dhoni’s odd yet impactful technique.

“Now, the way he (MSD) keeps, his hands are not always together like you always have the little fingers together… when he catches his hands are always not like that, But he always manages to catch the ball and whip the bails in a flash with a very different technique…very different and odd technique,” Taibu added.

Taibu also said that Dhoni’s batting technique was different but it was about his hand-eye coordination and mental toughness too.

“Same thing about his batting…different technique. But great hand-eye co-ordination. But I don’t think it’s only his hand-eye coordination but probably his mental toughness. Normally if you don’t look the part, so to speak, it’s easy for coaches to just put you aside. But Dhoni backs that up with statistics,” Taibu added.

About Australian great Adam Gilchrist, the Zimbabwean said he was a natural batsman but not a natural ‘keeper and used to put in more time on his wicket-keeping than batting.

“Gilchrist was a natural batsman and not a natural wicket-keeper. He always used to put more time on his keeping than his batting because his batting was very natural. Hitting the ball was quite easy for him,” he added.

Taibu, who burst onto the scene at a young age and also led his team, said that he had learned a lot from the international stars like Indian greats Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid among others, especially about training.