MS Dhoni, popularly known as Mahi, is a famous Indian sportsperson who resonates perfectly with excellence and strategic brilliance in his games. Known majorly for his success as a captain of the Indian team, he has attained excellence in batting and wicketkeeping.
Apart from this, the player also is famous for playing strategically and having an understanding of the psychological aspect of the game. No doubt he is an excellent cricket player, but are his skills as a cricket bowler exceptional as well? In this blog, let us see his skills as a bowler.
Key Elements
MS Dhoni: Background In Bowling Career
Born on July 07, 1981, MS Dhoni was born in Ranchi (Bihar). His full name is Mahendra Singh Dhoni and he is now 42 years old. He is a legend in the cricket world. Sharing the spotlight with other cricket stars like Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, he is the third-most-popular cricketer from India. He is most popular for his excellent batting and wicket-keeping skills. His psychological understanding of cricket makes him stand out more than other players.
Dhoni Bowling Speed
Dhoni is an exceptional batsman and wicketkeeper, but his bowling is not the best in the domain. Some of the fastest bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Zaheer Khan and nowadays popular Mohammed siraj bowling. MS Dhoni is considered to be a medium-paced bowler.
Dhoni has bowled approximately 96 bowls in tests. The wicket of Kevin Pietersen by his bowling made a topic of discussion. Just like he is a right-handed batsman, his bowling style also includes right-arm medium.
While he is not an express bowler, his bowling speed is an average of 120-128 km per hour. Some sources suggest that his medium-paced Bowling speed touches 80mph. He is not seen bowling that often but he has bowled a few times in different matches.
Here is the table that covers his journey as a bowler in cricket.
| Types Of Match | B | Inn | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Econ | Avg | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 96 | 7 | 67 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/1 | 4.19 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| ODI | 36 | 2 | 31 | 1 | 1/14 | 1/14 | 5.17 | 31.0 | 36.0 |
6 Times When Dhoni Has Bowled
- 2013, Champions Trophy (v/s Sri Lanka)
For the Champions Trophy, in 2013, Dhoni built a strategy for victory where he opted for bowling in the 24th over in the semifinals.
- 2012, Champions League T20 Game (v/s Yorkshire)
Dhoni also bowled for the Champions League T20 match. In this match, he bowled for two overs.
- 2011, 1st Test Lord’s (v/s England)
In their match, Dhoni opted for bowling where his bowling speed reached a range of 80 mph.
- 2010, 1st Test (India v/s New Zealand)
The 2010 match between India and New Zealand was a draw (with around 400 scores for both teams). The captain then decided to add interest to the game by taking the last chance of bowling where he reached a speed of 120 km/h.
- 2009, West Indies Trophy (v/s West Indies)
The first bowling of Dhoni was in the 2019 ODIs where he chose to bowl. Dhoni’s bowling made Travis Dowlin’s stumps shatter.
- 2006, 2nd Test (India v/s Pakistan)
Dhoni bowled for the 2nd test of the India vs. Pakistan match, where Mahi’s bowling was not that good.
Some Renowned Bowlers From the Indian Cricket Team
To be a famous bowler takes a lot of practice, determination, and enthusiasm. The right pace, accuracy, and spin, make a bowler a good bowler.
The bowlers from India have worked hard. Because of their drastic improvement in bowling, they have become a crucial part of victories for India. While Dhoni is not that great of a bowler, let us know who all are some famous Indian bowlers in cricket history.
- Kapil Dev: Kapil lasted longer than any other Indian bowler in his career as a bowler(representing India between 1978 to 1994). Apart from this, he has been a renowned bowler in test matches and other cricket tournaments.
- Zaheer Khan: Zaheer is a well-known bowler of the Indian cricket team. Zaheer is a left-arm fast bowler, who was at his peak of career from 2000 to 2014.
- Harbhajan Singh: Harbhajan Singh is another great bowler from the Indian cricket team. He is popular for his hat-trick in bowling that brought victory to his team in Test cricket.
Other Famous Bowlers of the Indian Cricket Team
- Ishant Sharma
- Ajit Agarkar
- Erapalli Prasanna
- Anil Kumble
- Ravichandran Ashwin
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Mohammed Shami
- Umesh Yadav
- Mohammed Siraj
| Cricket Player | Bowling Speed |
|---|---|
| Urman Malik | 157 km/h |
| Irfan Pathan | 153.7 km/h |
| Mohammed Shami | 153.3 km/h |
| Navdeep Saini | 152.85 km/h |
| Zaheer Khan | 145.1 km/h |
| Javagal Srinath | 154.5 km/h |
| Mohammad Nisar | 150+ km/h |
| Ajit Agarkar | 145.5 km/h |
| Ishant Sharma | 152.6 km/h |
| Mohammed Siraj | 160 km/h |
Wrap-up
MS Dhoni, a popular Indian cricketer, is loved by all the cricket enthusiasts. With his excellence in the game, he has served as a captain of the Indian team for a long time.
While his expertise in the game includes batting and wicketkeeping, he has bowled for his teams quite often. He is a medium-paced bowler, with an average of speed 120-128 kph.
He is not the fastest bowler from India, but he has played with excellence. Some of the other renowned bowlers from India are Kapil Dev, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Anil Kumble, etc.
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