5 things we will miss about Dhoni in Test Cricket

Dhoni retired from Tests after the 3^rd Test against Australia last year

MS Dhoni retired from Test cricket during the series against Australia, in December of 2014. He didn’t play in the 1st Test of the 4 match series, came back to captain in the next 2 Tests and retired before the 4th Test, after losing the 3rd Test.

India has started a new era with their one-off Test against Bangladesh under Virat Kohli. But each and every Indian fan will miss the presence of MSD on the field in whites. His antics, the way he carried himself on the field and his encouragement to every player in the squad will be missed in the 5-day game. Though he will still be leading India in limited overs format, some things about him were just different in the Test arena.

Here are the 5 things that will be missed about him in the longer version of the game:

1. Lightning Quick reflex stumpings

Hopefully, Saha will be as alert as Dhoni behind the stumps

Dhoni is probably the best keeper in the world when it comes to stumping the batsman out. He was always alert behind the stumps even during some dull periods of play in Test matches.

Though his stumpings are still a rage in ODIs and T20s, the ones in Tests deserve special mention since the tempo of the game is not so fast paced and one tends to lose some concentration. Especially wicket-keepers, who have to concentrate hard more than any other fielder, Dhoni made his work look easy.

2. Use of leg slip for long durations

Will Kohli employ similar tactics?

Dhoni flummoxed one and all with his prolonged use of a leg slip when he got his spinners to bowl. Along with a normal slip, short leg/silly point; Dhoni constantly used a leg slip. He asked his spinners, especially Harbhajan and Ashwin to bowl into the rough outside the leg, getting batsmen to flick it to the leg slip.

Many commentators and experts scratched their heads over Dhoni’s absurd field placing, but he didn’t care for applauds or criticism of the commentators and stuck to his own plans.And guess what? At times, it did work!

3. He could change a game with his bat alone

He announced himself in the Test arena with a brutal 148 against Pakistan

Dhoni has a highest score of 224 in Tests against Australia in 2013 at Chennai. He also once made 76 runs from 159 balls in an effort to save a Test match against England at Lord’s in 2007.

He made a big difference coming in at no.6 or no.7 in the batting line-up. No matter what people say about his batting technique in the format, he still ended up with an average of close to 40. He was capable of going for very quick runs, a feat he achieved against Pakistan in 2006 when he scored a brilliant and devastating 148 against Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami and Danish Kaneria. At the same time, he could also bat out a few overs in order to save a game.

India got a wicketkeeper who was also a very good batsman after a very long time. Before him, India had great keepers, technically sound, but short on batting prowess. Keepers like Sadanand Vishwanath, Kiran More, Nayan Mongia were great keepers, but apart from Farokh Engineer, no other keeper could change the course of the game only based on their batting. Dhoni was able to do it, proficient against both spin and pace, using his unique batting technique.

4. His behind the stump quips

Dhoni kept encouraging his bowlers

The wicket keeping community is filled with chirpy characters. A keeper is responsible to keep the morale of the team up and keep all the fielders around the bat on their toes.

Dhoni mastered this art with his banter from behind the stumps. He used to challenge his bowlers into bowling where he wanted and show some spirit when the tide was not going India’s way or urging his fielders to be alert all the time.

Young cricketers or fielders who had a lapse of concentration bore the brunt of Dhoni’s remarks.

5. That smile on his face irrespective of the result

Dhoni was the ultimate team man

Dhoni is often referred to as Captain Cool. He always had a smile on his face even when things were not going his way in Tests. There were calls for him to step down after India lost 4-0 each to Australia and England in 2011 after being the number 1 team in Tests for more than a year. But Dhoni weathered the storm of criticism and hatred to maul Australia 4-0 at home in 2013.

His habit of sending youngsters for press conferences when things went well and face the media was laudable. And whenever India lost, he took the blame on himself.

India saw a great run at home under him, but at the same time he also had a miserable run overseas. The conditions and an ill-prepared team were to be blamed for the debacle of 2011, but Dhoni took every barb and hate on himself, defending his team and decisions with that trademark smile.